The College Years: Mitsukuni Haninozuka
by Spirit Saiga
Summary: In this tale we take a look into Hani's college life that may reveal a potential love interest and fun adventures. HaniXOC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

After the twins and Haruhi had graduated, the host club found half its members scattered across the world. Hikaru was studying design in France, Kyouya was at Harvard, and Kaoru had taken up residence in San Francisco to study business, while our four remaining members stayed in noble Japan to study at Ouran University.

This particular story revolves around everyone's favorite sugar crazed karate champion, his college life, and how he met Akira.

0o0o0o0

It was just another year of college, and frankly Mitsukuni was counting down the days until the long hours of studying shifted into a world of business enterprises.

With Takashi off at a Philosophy class, Mitsukuni had found himself in need of sweets. But he couldn't have any normal sweets. No, it had to be a triple layers cake, preferably chocolate, with a couple strawberries on top.

Mitsukuni looked out of his limo window as his driver patiently catered to his insatiable sweet tooth. Where was he going to find the perfect chocolate cake at the last minute?

He could always find a cake waiting for him at home, but unfortunately he had grown bored of the same cakes being presented to him day after day. He wanted something fresh and new. There was something about baking that made each scrumptious piece of culinary art taste different. No two bakers could make the same cake. It was impossible. There would always be something to set the two apart.

He spotted a new shop. It had a simple look about it. Cartoonish Hiragana spelled out 'Good Luck Cupcakes'. In the window was a human sized decal of a delicious looking chocolate cupcake. If he went inside he could have a plate of cupcakes instead of just _one_ layered cake.

He quickly ordered the driver to stop. As soon as the tires came to a complete stop, Mitsukuni was sprinting out into the street and towards the cupcakery as the sweet intoxicating smalls drew him in, softly singing his name.

Mitsukuni walked along the display case and eyed the masterpieces before him. He stopped and stared at the lemon flavored cake with a vanilla bean frosting. He had to have it. Along with the chocolate lava cupcake with a fudge icing. He unconsciously wiped away the small amount of drool that had formed at the side of his mouth.

A peppy teenager standing behind the display case put on a bright smile. "Welcome to Good Luck Cupcakes. What can I do you for?"

Mitsukuni snapped out of his sugar crazed stupor and looked at the bakery worker. "How long has this shop been here?" he asked.

"We've been open for about a month now," the girl answered leaned against the top of the counter.

"Who makes the cupcakes?" he questioned trying to look into the back of the shop.

"Akira-Chan and her auntie do," the girl continued to smile and flutter her long eyelashes. She had seen the young man hop out of the limo.

A woman in her forties moved over next to the girl. "Isuzu, go help the customers who have been waiting for you to serve them," she grunted.

Mitsukuni studied the newcomer. She had dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. Her black t-shirt was heavily dusted with flour, and her tan capris had bits of frosting stuck to them.

"I'm sorry about Isuzu, she sees someone interesting and ignores the rest," the woman said. "My name is Kimi Higurashi, I own this store."

"Everything looks so good!" Mitsukuni awed.

Kimi laughed. "I certainly hope it does. Do you see something you might want to try?"

Mitsukuni nodded excitedly. "I want the chocolate fudge, strawberry, and the lemon vanilla."

Kimi paused. Three cupcakes? Was the kid crazy? She nodded in acceptance. The customer was always right. "Do you want them in a box, or would you like to sit at one of our tables and enjoy them with some hot chocolate. Maybe some espresso?" she asked as she pulled the mini cakes out.

"I'll eat them here, with some hot chocolate," Mitsukuni answered.

A minute later, he sat down at a small polished white table and picked the lemon vanilla cupcake. He carefully removed the paper wrapper.

As he took his first bit of fluffy cake, a young woman his age came walking out of the back of the shop. She had auburn hair in a bun, and green eyes. She was in an outfit similar to Kimi's but the capris had been replaced with a pleated tan skirt and black combat boots.

"Kimi, I'm headed out," the girl said. "I have to get my paper on the World Trade Organization done tonight."

"Akira-Chan," Kimi called with a smile. "I'm going to be staying here late, so pick up some dinner on the way home."

The auburn haired girl smiled. "Not a problem. I'll just grab some sushi down the street."

Mitsukuni contemplated the delicious substance in his mouth. It was possibly the best lemon cake he had ever had, and the way the sugary topping melted in mouth. It released the smooth essence of vanilla. The college student could have sworn that he was in heaven with the type of cake her was eating.

He sat quietly watching the girl leave the shop with a tan messenger bag. She was pretty he thought as he continued to enjoy the best cupcakes he had ever had.

0o0o0o0

A week later he was back in the 'Good Luck Cupcakes' back corner. He mechanically chewed at a small bit of lemon cake and frowned.

This lemon cupcake was good, but it wasn't the same cupcake he had the week before. No, this wasn't quite as lemony, and the frosting didn't melt the same way.

Mitsukuni got up and walked over to the counter. Kimi came over and smiled. "What can I do you for Haninozuka-san?"

"Who made the lemon cupcake last week?" he asked innocently.

"My niece, Akira. She would have made them today, but she had an exam to study for, so I made it," Kimi explained. "Did you find it unsatisfactory this time around?"

"It's delicious," Mitsukuni defended with a smile. "But yours just tastes… softer then hers. Like there's less lemon."

Kimi laughed. "I follow a recipe to the letter. Akira uses it as a guideline. She likes to add some fresh lemon zest to her batter. She does the same thing with her orange cupcakes."

Mitsukuni smiled nodding in understanding. "Well I hope she did well on her test," he said.

"I think she did," Kimi grinned. "I'll let her know that you enjoy her cupcakes."

"Does she live with you?"

Kimi gave a sad smile. "I'm all she has left. Her father walked out on her mother while she was still pregnant, and my sister died two years ago."

Mitsukuni frowned. "I'm sorry."

Kimi brightened up. "We have each other, and the shop," she said. "We help the other out when we need it."

Mitsukuni laughed. "That's good."

0o0o0o0

That night Kimi entered her home to find Akira on the couch. She was watching a TV comedy as Kimi hung up her jacket on the coat rack. "How do you think you did on the test?"

Akira looked at her aunt. "As good as can be expected I guess," she answered. "I nailed the multiple choices; I'm not sure about the writing portion."

"I'm sure you did well," Kimi said sitting next to her. "You studied very hard for this exam."

"We'll see," Akira sighed.

"There was a boy at the shop today. He could taste the minor difference between your lemon cake and mine. He likes yours better."

"Really?" Akira asked surprised. Most people couldn't taste the subtle difference. "Describe him to me."

"Well he's quite short. Five feet, like you. His hair is blond naturally and his eyes are Hazel. I noticed slight stubble around his chin too," Kimi described. "He had a notebook from Ouran University today."

"Huh, maybe he'll bring in more business," Akira shrugged.

"That boy can support our shop alone with the amount of sugar he inhales," Kimi joked.

Akira giggled and looked at the TV. "I'll have to meet him sometime.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Akira sat at one of the bakery's table flipping through a book of pastry recipes. She stopped on an éclair recipe and smiled. "Kimi, do you think that people would buy éclairs if we sold them?"

Kimi looked up from the ray of cupcakes that she was setting up in the display case. "We could try it," she said. "Did you find a good recipe?"

Akira nodded. "I also have an idea for a reversed éclair. A chocolate custard filling and a white chocolate coating on top."

Kimi smiled as she thought about the idea. "We'll make a test batch for tomorrow. If people like them, we'll figure out a price to sell them."

Akira grinned widely. "Okay," she chirped. She turned her attention back to the book as Mitsukuni walked in.

Kimi put on her nicest smile as she stood up. She wiped her small apron off and walked over to the cash register. "Good afternoon Haninozuka-san. How are you doing?"

"I passed my business exam with flying colors, so I came to reward myself," Mitsukuni stated happily.

Akira glanced up at the fellow college student. "Isn't it a great feeling?" she asked as she flipped a page. She kicked her legs out playfully and swung them back and forth.

Mitsukuni turned to look at her. "Yeah!"

Akira picked up the book and headed towards the kitchen. "The cupcakes are done," she said as she skipped behind the counter.

Kimi looked over at the young woman curiously. "But the timer hasn't gone off."

"I know, but it feels like they're done," Akira explained.

Ten minutes later Akira was perched up on a stool behind the counter. She had her elbows resting on her thighs. She leaned forward as she pulled the paper cup away from the freshly baked lemon cupcake. "Told you," she smirked.

Kimi handed Mitsukuni a lemon cupcake without the vanilla frosting as he stood next to the counter. "It's too hot to put on the frosting, but you can eat it without."

Mitsukuni's eyes lit up. "Thank you!" he smiled. He looked around the empty shop. "Why aren't there more people here?"

Akira stared at him. She found him interesting and quite handsome despite his short stature. "Tuesday isn't a very busy day for us," she said. "It's okay though because I use the time to find new recipes."

"So you go to the University of Tokyo?" Mitsukuni asked. He has seen her writing in a small planner with the school's logo.

Akira and nodded as she took a bite of her small cake. "I'm studying History and the Social Science."

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm going to be a teacher," Akira answered as her grin grew bigger.

"That's really cool," Mitsukuni chirped.

Akira hopped off her stool. "What are you going to do?" she asked as she leaned on the counter.

"I'm going to expand the Haninozuka Company to include children's toys."

Akira giggled. "Care to hook me up with a stuffed dog?" she asked.

"Akira-chan, buy yourself one," Kimi sighed.

Akira straightened up. "I can't. I have to pay for college, clothing, supplies for the shop. You know the stuff I kind of sort of need." She was smiling as she said.

"You don't have a stuff animal?" Mitsukuni asked as his eyes watered up. How could the cute Akira-chan not have a faithful stuffed companion? It was blasphemy!

Akira frowned. "I have plushs, but my favorite was destroyed in a camping accident."

"What?" Mitsukuni asked. His eyes grew to the size of saucers. "What happened?"

"I was with my friends and my favorite stuffed dog was with me. A friend scared me while we were around a fire pit and Inu-chan was thrown into the fire pit..." Akira slowly stopped talking. "He couldn't be saved."

"That's so sad!"

Kimi smiled as Akira moved back to her stool. "It's okay. Inu-chan still lives on in my mind," Akira said as she grabbed another cupcake. Kimi pulled it out of her hands and put it back in the display case.

"You'll give yourself cavities," Kimi scolded.

Akira crossed her arms and began to pout as she sniffed indignantly. "Haninozuka-san gets to eat cupcakes."

"He pays for them, and is not my neice." Kimi said.

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni sat in his bedroom as he stared at his beloved Usa-chan. He could never imagine losing the stuff animal. Of course, as he grew older, the rabbit would no longer go with him everywhere. He brought it to gatherings with Tamaki and Haruhi, and he would spend his evenings with Usa-chan, and a few classes where children's marketing was a part of the lesson. On days where the stuffed rabbit had to stay at home, Usa-chan would sit on a special shelf of some sort, waiting for another excursion with his owner.

Mitsukuni picked up Usa-chan and fell back on his mattress. He held the pink rabbit up and examined it's pink fabric fur, and simple black eyes. He giggled and hugged Usa-chan tightly. "Akira-chan will be a great friend. Right Usa-chan?"

0o0o0o0

Akira was walking through a busy part of Tokyo, trying to find some new outfits to replace her old ones that had become tattered and worn or some clothes she didn't even wear anymore. As she got older, she found herself finding her style, but at times she wondered how long the pleated skirts and combat boots would last. After all she preferred cute than devious. Was there some sort of in between?

She stopped in front of a toy store window and marveled at all of the new toys that had come out since she was little as she adjusted her shoulder bag. She loved the children's games, toys, and props. They reminded her of all the fun times she had had with her mother when she herself was barely three feet tall.

Akira sighed. Maybe the next paycheck she could buy a small stuffed dog. An Inu-chan 2.0, if you will. She continued walking down the street minding her own business, occasionally moving out of the way of a business man or a tired mother.

"Hey do you want to make some quick cash?" a gruff voice asked from behind the short young woman.

Akira turned to see two tall men dressed as thugs in their baggy pants and extra-large t-shirts. One was smoking a long thin cigarette. Both of them wore matching smirks as they eyed her small figure.

Akira shook her head as worry and fear crept into the pit of her stomach. "No, I'm okay," she answered warily.

One of the guys moved forward and touched her jacket. It was a black cotton jacket with a cream colored lace layer on top to give the jacket a fun design of black and white flowers. Akira backed up and held onto the strap of her bag. "I have to go."

The man reached out and pulled her into a sideways hug. He bent over to whisper in her ear. "The money is really good," he said.

"I don't need money," Akira stated weakly. At five feet tall, she wasn't very strong. She'd never invested in self-defense, and these men had twice the mass then she did. It would be impossible for her to fight them off.

"She said she doesn't need money!" a small childish voice yelled from a few yards in front of them. Akira winced as she tried to pull away.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Akira's eyes widened as she realized who had yelled. She looked up at the blond martial artist in shock. "Haninozuka-san!" she yelped.

Mitsukuni stood a few yards away. He was in cargo shorts and a cotton t-shirt. His fists were balled up tightly as he prepared to fight.

"Go play with your toys kid," one of the men stated.

The grip on Akira's arm grew tighter and winced as a small whimper came out of her lips. She wasn't going to be able to lift large loads for a while if he gripped any tighter.

Mitsukuni ran at the men and in a flying leap he kicked the open one to the ground. The short blond then turned and punched the man hold Akira in the back. Hitting the man's floating rib would cause difficulty in breathing and slow him down should he decided to follow them.

The man let Akira go and she stumbled away from her assailants. Mitsukuni turned and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Akira rubbed her tender arm and nodded, never taking her gaze off the two men on the ground. Mitsukuni reached out and took her had before dragging her away from the two groaning men.

"I can't believe they did that," Mitsukuni began talking. "Some guys just don't know the meaning of no, and they hurt you. That's not right," he stated with a small pout on his face.

Akira had become lost in her thoughts. Did she really see what she had just witnessed? How could someone so short, jump so high? If he was so strong, then why didn't her hand feel like it was being crushed? What just happened?

Akira dumbly let Mitsukuni drag her through the streets to some unknown location.

"What were you doing walking around by yourself?" Mitsukuni asked. His hazel eyes looked at her in curiosity.

"I…" Akira struggled to break away from her thoughts. "Was shopping for clothes."

Mitsukuni opened a dark door and guided Akira into a small dojo. "Master Kaneshige, do you have ice?" he asked randomly.

The master of the dojo looked away from his students. "Ah, Haninozuka-san. Yes, there's ice in the back room. Help yourself."

Mitsukuni made his way to the back of the dojo with Akira in tow. Once they were locked up in the room safely, Mitsukuni sat Akira gently in a seat.

"Your arm won't bruise as bad if we put ice on it," Mitsukuni stated.

Akira looked at the back room. There were wooden staffs, pads, and various martial arts related hardware that she couldn't name. "Where are we?" she asked.

"The Kaneshige family runs this dojo. The Haninozuka's trained several of the masters that teach here," Mitsukuni explained as he pulled an ice pack from the corner freezer.

"Train?" Akira asked. All she knew about the Haninozuka was that he really liked sweet stuff.

Mitsukuni walked over and looked at Akira. He wasn't his cute bubbly self. Instead he had a somewhat serious air about him as he went through some mental procedure to help Akira's arm. "The Haninozuka's run a martial arts enterprise," he said. "Can you take your jacket off?"

Akira unzipped her jacket. "Is that why you can do all that crouching tiger hidden dragon stuff?" she asked as she pulled her jacket off.

Mitsukuni giggled. "I'm a world champion in Judo," he said as he grabbed a clean towel from a shelf. He wrapped up the ice pack and placed it on Akira's upper arm.

Akira hissed as the cold hit her arm. Why couldn't it be warm? "Thank you," she said.

"You're my friend," Mitsukuni said. "I couldn't let them do something horrible to you."

Akira looked at the ground. It was hard to imagine what could have happened to her. She sniffed as she started to cry.

Mitsukuni looked at her sadly. "Akira-Chan, please don't cry," he said. "Everything is going to be okay now. All we have to do is keep this ice pack on your arm for ten minutes and then you can go shopping. Okay?"

Akira nodded, but still didn't look up. "Okay."

"If you want, I'll walk around with you so you aren't alone," Mitsukuni said. "Can you hold the ice pack?"

Akira held the cold compress on her arm and blinked away her tears. She watched as the blond dragged a chair over. He grinned widely as he sat down.

"How's school?" he asked. Small talk got you everywhere.

"Good," Akira smiled happy for a distraction. "I finished a ten page paper yesterday."

"What was it about?" Mitsukuni asked as he kicked his shoes off and pulled his knees in. He wanted to know more about the baker.

"Development of a child's social foundation," Akira answered. "What about you. You go have a lot of complicated classes' right?"

"I had to turn in the programming I did for a word game," Mitsukuni answered. "It was a lot of fun, but it was hard too."

Akira laughed. "That's cool."

"What kind of clothes are you looking for?"

"Well, fall is coming, so I need to get some warmer clothes. A couple jackets, some jeans. I can't wear my skirts anymore, so I'll probably look into some sweater dresses maybe."

"What about long skirts?" Mitsukuni asked. He liked Akira in skirts.

"I'm too short," Akira stated as her nose scrunched up in disappointment. "Can we take this ice pack off now, I think I might have hypothermia it's so cold."

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni sat on a bench in a clothing shop. He kicked his legs out playfully as he waited for Akira to come out of the dressing room. He had found some clothes that he wanted her to try on, and then there were some things that she had grabbed.

"Are you sure you want to sit there as I try on clothes?" Akira asked from behind a closed door.

"Yeah, I want to see how you look in the cute clothes we picked out," Mitsukuni chirped. "I have clothes to try on too, so you can wait for me while I take my turn."

There was a pause behind the door. "Okay," Akira answered. "Promise you won't laugh."

"Why would I laugh?" Mitsukuni asked innocently. "Akira-Chan is cute no matter what."

The dressing room door opened slightly and Akira poked her head out. "Really?"

Mitsukuni grinned and nodded. Akira blushed and pulled her head back in and closed the door. "Haninozuka-san, why are you so eager to help me? Don't you have other friends?"

"Yup," Mitsukuni popped. "But Takashi is training with his dad and brother at a shrine, and Tama-Chan and Haru-chan are on a date. My other friends go to school outside of the country."

"Oh," Akira hummed. "I'm not sure how I feel about this outfit," she stated slowly.

"Can I see it?"

Akira opened the door and shuffled out. She was in a light blue cashmere dress, grey flannel stockings, and brown high heeled boots that went up to the middle of her calf.

"You're so cute," Mitsukuni exclaimed happily.

Akira's blush returned. She looked at the price tag of the dress and sighed. As much as she liked the outfit, she would have to wait to buy it. There were some jeans in the dressing room that she could buy, but the rest would have to wait.

Mitsukuni stared at her solemn face. He really hated it when girls were unhappy. "I'll buy it," he said.

Akira looked up in surprise. "No. Haninozuka-san, I can't let you do that. Really, it's okay. I'll just wait a couple weeks and buy it when I have more money."

Mitsukuni shook his head. "I want to," he said simply. "You can call me Mitsukuni. We're friends, so you don't have to be so formal."

Akira just looked at her metaphorical prince in shining armor. "I can't let you buy this for me."

Mitsukuni hopped off the bench. "Then pay me back when you can. It might be gone in a couple weeks, so it's best to get it now," he said as he gently pushed her to the dressing room. "Now go try on the other clothes we picked out. I want to see how you look."


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Spirit Saiga

Rating:

T

Disclaimer: Hey, now, as much as I would like to admit that the series of satirical genius is mine, it's not. So please read my writing, but know that any character created by Bisco Hatori is still owned by Bisco Hatori.

0o0o0o0

Chapter Four:

Mitsukuni answered his front door with a beaming smile. It wasn't possible to contain his childlike glee as he greeted his friend. "Akira-chan!" he sang. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet trying to direct his excitement somewhere else.

Akira stood in a simple pair of running shorts and a black tank top. "Hello Mitsukuni-kun," she smiled slightly. She wasn't used to being in such casual attire, and she felt a bit awkward standing in front of her only guy friend dressed up in this manner. "How are you?"

"I'm great. Come in," Mitsukuni chirped. He grabbed on of Akira's hands like he always did and dragged her into the houses foyer. "The dojo is this way," he stated as they started moving farther into the traditional Japanese house.

Having lived in more modern amenities, Akira was taken slightly aback by the paper screens, and the wood furnishings. She looked around in wonder and awe as she remembered the stories her mother would tell her as a child.

Mitsukuni had decided that Akira needed to learn some self-defense. He didn't want her to walk around scared that some man was going to take advantage of her. So, the young man, being the host that he was, had come to the conclusion that he himself would teach Akira Judo.

"My mom tried to find a gi for you to wear, but I guess she couldn't. So, I have a pair of mine that you can wear," Mitsukuni explained as he kept his eyes forward.

Akira looked at her clothing. "Why can't I learn judo in these?" she asked. They were made to work out in. At least that's what her P.E teachers had told her her entire life. Kimi even helped her pick out what she was going to wear.

Mitsukuni stopped walking and turned his gaze to hers. "That's not proper," he said. "Besides you'll get all sweaty. You don't want to go home in sweaty clothes do you?"

"No," Akira said quietly as she had just been scolded.

In all honesty, Akira thought that her first lesson wouldn't actually involve too much physical activity. She imagined a lot of air punches and weak kicks.

Mitsukuni slid a door open effortlessly to reveal a large dojo. Akira's eyes widened in shock. It was so big! Mitsukuni looked at her and grinned widely.

Yasuchika was sparring with his cousin Satoshi in one corner of the simple dojo while Takashi watched carefully from the sidelines. The back end of the room opened up to a Zen like garden with its large rocks, jasmine plants, and koi pond. Mitsukuni dragged Akira over to Takashi. "Akira-chan, this is my cousin Takashi."

"You went on a date with Rae," Akira blurted out quickly as she recognized the taller kendo artist.

Mitsukuni looked at Akira curiously. "You know Rae-chan?"

Akira nodded. "I grew up next door to her. She helped me study for my entrance exams to the University, she helped me and Kimi start up the cupcake shop by making sure all the legal affairs were in order. We give her free cupcakes for all free legal stuff she did for us. We would play at each other's house all the time."

"That's so cool!" Mitsukuni exclaimed as he bounced around in one spot. "So you two are like best friends!"

Akira nodded again with a big smile. "She likes Morinozuka-san," she said while she looked at the ground.

"See, now you have to call her again," Mitsukuni told Takashi while his grin grew some more. "Come on Akira-chan; let's get you ready to learn judo."

_SMACK!_

Akira jumped as Yasuchika threw Satoshi onto the ground. "Oh my god!" she yelped. "Are you okay?"

Satoshi laughed after a moment of breathlessness. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Akira looked at Mitsukuni in fear. "You aren't going to do that to me. Are you?" she asked nervously.

Mitsukuni giggled. "Of course not, we're only going to cover the basics today," he said. "That would happen later though.

"I don't want to be flipped over someone's shoulder," Akira said as she shook her head.

"Don't worry; it's not as painful as it looks."

"But it is painful," Akira said pointedly.

"No pain, no gain," Satoshi laughed.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Akira said. Suddenly self-defense seemed dangerous and rather painful.

"Satoshi-chan, don't scare Akira-chan," Mitsukuni scolded childishly. "Akira-chan, this is going to be fun."

Ten minutes later Akira came out of a dressing room tightening her belt. The pant legs ended at her ankles and the tops sleeves ended at her elbows.

Mitsukuni hopped over and looked at her belt. "You didn't tie it right," he said with a small frown.

Akira sighed. "I'm sorry," she said solemnly.

"It's okay. I'll fix it. Watch carefully because you'll have to do this yourself next time."

Akira nodded. She watched as Mitsukuni tied the belt the correct way. She thought she got it down, but she would have to see the next time she got into a gi…

"First we're going to do some proper breathing exercises," Mitsukuni smiled as he backed up.

"Okay, I think I can do that."

"We do this so that we can relax the body creating more fluid movements," Mitsukuni explained.

A half hour later, Akira was in a Horse stance, legs bent into a slight squat. Her legs were starting to kill her. Mitsukuni was in the same stance facing her.

"Akira-chan, are you okay?" Mitsukuni asked.

Akira shifted to relieve some of the pressure on her legs when she fell on her back. She coughed as Mitsukuni walked over and looked at her with a contemplative frown.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she grunted out. "I have a question."

"What is it?" Mitsukuni said tilting his head so that he could look at her straighter.

"If I'm learning all of this to protect myself, then shouldn't we be working on more practical applications?"

"Like what?" Mitsukuni asked as he offered her a hand. He pulled her into a seated position.

"I don't know," Akira said "I mean I need to know how to get out of choke holds and stuff like that. Right?"

"In order to do that, Akira-chan must first learn the basics," Mitsukuni said simply.

"Oh," she whispered as she understood. "Okay."

"Akira-chan," Satoshi called from across the room. He waited until he had her attention. "While you're learning, just keep this in mind for a quick trick to get away from a thug. Grab onto the skin of their neck, or any skin for that matter. Then twist. It's extremely painful no matter what. Okay."

Akira nodded and smiled. "Thank you Satoshi-kun."

"You're welcome."

"Come on," Mitsukuni said. "Let's get you back into the Horse stance."

"Oh boy," Akira muttered. She wondered how much more she would have to go through before the day was done.

"You'll get used to it," Mitsukuni stated. "Your legs aren't used to being in the crouched position for so long, so that's why they feel like they're burning. You're using your muscles"

0o0o0o0

Akira dropped onto the soft mat that she and Mitsukuni had been working out on. How was it possible for her to feel this exhausted after only three hours. Her muscles ached, she was hungry, and more than anything she wanted to sleep for a month, and when she woke up, she was going to eat a try full of cupcakes. Vanilla and lemon cupcakes to be exact.

"Here, drink some water," Mitsukuni said holding out a bottle.

Akira pushed herself up and took the bottle from his small hands. "Thank you," she said as she gasped for air.

"I'm sorry Akira-chan. I made you do too much today. I should have slowed the lessons down for you."

Akira started gulping down water quickly. She shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it," she sighed. "It was really fun." Not.

"I'm going to get a snack. Why don't you move to the garden," Mitsukuni suggested.

Akira nodded. She stood up weakly and moved to the garden door. Once she was outside, she sat down on the porch and leaned tiredly against a wood post. Even if she was in the shade, she could feel the sun on her face. She smiled as she felt her muscles start to relax.

Five minutes later Akira had fallen asleep in the sun with a smile on her face. Soon it would be too cold to sit out in the sun.

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Well this is fun. I liked writing this chapter. So I guess we're going to see more Akira and Mitsukuni interaction. It's a lot of fun to write. And I've introduced the relation between Rae and Akira, so we'll be seeing more of that unfold as well.

I'm in the final weeks of my first year of college, so these weeks are crucial to me passing. If updates are slow it's because I'm studying for Poly Sci or Music. I just wanted to let you know because it's been a couple weeks since I last updated.

Anywho, drop me a review letting me know what you think. It's fun to hear from you guys.

Spirit


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Akira sat in her room trying to work on her school work. As she stared at the text, her vision blurred and she had to blink several times before it focused once more. She let out an aggravated sigh. She had been unable to get any proper studying done for a week. She was lethargic, feverish, and she couldn't eat her sweet cupcakes. They were too sweet, and she couldn't stomach its taste.

Akira closed her textbook and gave up. She walked over to her bed and fell on the mattress unceremoniously. She had to be at Mitsukuni's house early the next morning, and being late was not an option. She lazily moved under her quilt and closed her eyes as she slipped into a world of dreams and warm thoughts.

0o0o0o0

The next day, Akira showed up for practice exactly at seven in the morning. As Mitsukuni gave her his usual bright cheery smile, Akira answered with a weak wave and a yawn. She was on time, and that was all that mattered.

"You look sleepy Akira-chan," Mitsukuni said. He tilted his head to the side as he hugged Usa-chan and studied his friend. "Are you okay?"

Akira smiled weakly. "I'm fine, I just had a late night studying for exams," she shrugged. She clapped her hand. "I'm ready for more training today."

Mitsukuni thought about Akira's overall appearance. The bags under her eyes made her look tired, and she looked a little pale. "Are you sure?" he asked. "We don't have to practice if you're not up to it."

Akira shook her head and slowly made her way into Mitsukuni's home. "I'm up for it. I just can't do intense stuff right now."

Mitsukuni followed Akira with caution. He wasn't sure if they should be practicing if the girl was going to fall asleep. When they entered the dojo, Akira made her way to the dressing room. She had to get into the gi that was given to her after a couple weeks of training.

A half hour later and Mitsukuni had Akira meditating. His entire being was telling him to keep Akira doing small things. Exercises that didn't require a lot of energy. Instead, he was going to have her work on mental agility and meditation was just the trick. Akira opened her eyes. "I thought we were going to do kicks today," she stated. She shifted and rolled her neck to chase the sleepiness.

"Meditation exercises are just as important," Mitsukuni stated firmly. "When you're in a match, you don't want to be consumed with outside thoughts. You need to be able to focus on the task at hand."

Akira rolled her eyes and jumped up quickly. She brushed off the sudden wave of dizziness and clapped. "Let's do this," she said as she blinked tiredly.

Mitsukuni sighed. He didn't want to argue with her, but it was obvious to the martial arts heir that Akira was in no way ready to practice. She was unbalance and unfocused. "I don't know if we should do that just yet."

"Mitsukuni-san, I can't learn if you don't teach me," Akira slowly slurred as her eyes began to drift closed.

Akira fell forward and Mitsukuni lurched forward to catch his petite friend. He slowly lowered her to the ground. He turned the girl over and felt her forehead. She was burning up, and Mitsukuni had a moment of sure panic. He had no clue what to do in this situation.

Miyuki Haninozuka came into the dojo to find her son sitting on the ground next to his friend. She herself hadn't had the chance to meet the female college student. She had wanted to meet her since her son was constantly talking about his lessons with the cupcake baker. However, she was traveling with her husband or with Takashi's mother.

"Mitsukuni!" Miyuki yelped as she rushed over. "What happened?"

"I think she's sick," Mitsukuni said quickly as he forced his heart to slow down. Now was not the time to panic. He needed to think. He needed to be the picture of grace under pressure. "I tried to keep her doing meditation, but she wanted to practice kicks. I didn't want her too."

"Okay," Miyuki started. "I want you to get me a washcloth and bring it here. Then could you get your cousin from the garden. We need to move her to a bed."

Mitsukuni nodded quickly. His mother was a registered nurse who volunteered at a clinic. She knew how to deal with this kind of thing. He jumped up and left the room as Miyuki started on basic first aid. She checked the girls pulse, made sure that no major bones were broken. The mother made sure that her airway was open. Everything she could do without a first aid kit, she did.

Mitsukuni came back with Takashi and Miyuki gave a gracious smile. "Takashi, would you mind taking her to the guest room. She needs to rest and she can't do that on a wood floor."

"Mom," Mitsukuni whimpered. "Is Akira-chan going to be okay?"

Miyuki smiled as she nodded. "She'll be fine, she just needs too sleep. I expect she caught a small bug and has been ignoring her bodies pleas to rest, so it took matters into its own hands before she hurt herself."

Takashi gracefully picked up the small woman and followed his aunt through the traditional house. Miyuki started talking about calling a doctor to look at Akira. Takashi knew that this wouldn't go over well with his cousin.

"No," Mitsukuni said. "Akira can't afford our doctor," he told his mother seriously.

Miyuki stopped walking ant looked at her son. "What?" she asked. "Don't you go to Universtiy together?" she asked. She was under the impression that Akira was a student at Ouran. Most likely lower level, but still an Ouran student.

"No," Mitsukuni repeated as he shook his head. "Akira-chan goes to the University of Tokyo. She runs a cupcake shop with her aunt," he explained.

"Oh," Miyukui sighed. She smiled suddenly. All she wanted was for her son to branch out. It looked like he was doing just that. The host club really had opened his world up in ways she couldn't have imagined. Now it seemed he was exploring on his own. "We'll figure something out. In the meantime, let's get Akira-chan situated. We aren't helping her by standing here."

0o0o0o0

Four hours later, Akira woke up on a large futon. She moaned and tried to sit up. After a minute of listening to her weak body complain, she gave up and let her body relax. She stared at the wood beam ceiling. She tried to figure out what happened to her. She remembered arriving at the Haninozuka household, but everything after that was a blank.

"You're awake," Mitsukuni chirped from across the room. Akira turned her head to see Mitsukuni holding Usa-chan as he stood in the doorway.

"What happened?" Akira asked.

"You passed out from exhaustion," Mitsukuni frowned as he walked over. He sat down on the futon. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I can't sit up," Akira muttered. She moaned slightly and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

"You need to rest. I called your aunt. She's going to let you stay here tonight," Mitsukuni smiled. "That way you don't have to worry about going home."

"I'm sorry," Akira mumbled.

"Why are you pushing yourself?" Mitsukuni asked sadly. He didn't want to see someone work until they couldn't move.

"I can't afford to be sick. My aunt needs my help at the shop, and I've got school." Akira really wanted to get out of bed and start studying again. She needed to pass school.

Mitsukuni put a hand on Akira's shoulder when she tried to push herself up again. His grip was gentle, but kept her down on the mattress. "Don't make me force you," he told her firmly.

"Mitsukuni, I'm fine!" Akira complained. She batted his hand away weakly. "I need to go home."

Mitsukuni acted on an unknown impulse. He bent down and kissed Akira. It was a simple peck on the lips, but it was enough to stun Akira. Her body relaxed and Mitsukuni smiled. Akira blinked and stared at the boyish man in front of her. "Why did you do that?" she breathed. Her face was beet red and she felt her heart rate kick up a few notches.

"Because I like you, and I don't want you to hurt yourself," Mitsukuni smiled as he took Akira's hand in his. "Please rest."

Akira blushed and tried to hide her face by pulling the blanket up a bit. "Okay," she mumbled as she stared at their interlocked fingers.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

Akira walked over to her best friends couch as she held an ice pack. "Don't laugh Rae," she moaned. She fell onto the end of the couch as Rae Miyagi took the ice pack and dropped it on her swollen ankle. "I didn't know what to do after he kissed me."

Rae snickered. Unlike the mediator, Akira had never dated before. Akira was more interested in inventing cake recipes. "It was just a kiss," Rae sighed. "I don't understand why you're acting so flustered."

"You got flustered when Morinozuka-san asked you out on a date," Akira pointed out as she leaned back into the comfort of the couch. She let her arms rest limp at her side. "You're in no place to laugh at me."

"Anybody would be flustered if Takashi Morinozuka asked them out," Rae defended stubbornly. She rubbed her cheek from where she had been slapped by a member of the Yakuza that had held up her dinner date with Takashi a couple days ago.

"How is this any different from Mitsukuni doing that?" Akira asked as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Because, Mitsukuni-san kissed you out of the blue," Rae answered. "People get flustered when something unexpected happens."

Akira let out a helpless moan. After Mitsukuni kissed her, he stayed with Akira through the night. She woke up the next morning to find him still by her side. It was charming and sweet, and it obviously made Akira's heart pitter patter in ways it had never done before. However, Akira didn't know how to react to such things. She was socially inept when it came to boys. She had never known anyone to show any interest in her.

Akira could make the best cupcake in Tokyo. The kind that could make you fall in love with the baked goods. The frosting could melt any cold, frozen heart, and the moist cake was sure to relax those tense muscles after a long day of work. That was what she knew, and she was comfortable with it. Anything else always seemed to put her on edge.

"What should I do?" Akira asked.

Rae shrugged. "I don't know, but it certainly doesn't help matter that you are avoiding Mitsukuni-san."

Akira groaned once more. "I want to curl up in a ball and never leave my room."

"You're being over dramatic," Rae sighed. She nudged Akira with an elbow and looked up at the ceiling in contemplation. "Just call Mitsukuni-san up and ask if there was any meaning behind the kiss. He'll explain things to you. All you have to do is ask." Rae adjusted the ice pack on her ankle and glanced at Akira who hadn't moved. She made a shooing motion and laughed. "We'll go on. Call the man!"

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni sat in his family's kitchen as he slowly munched on some strawberry short cake. It had been a while since he had slowly eaten anything. Normally, he would gulp down his lunch or dinner in anticipation of the sweet delicacies that came afterwards. That was what Mitsukuni wanted.

He had kissed Akira.

The thought brought a smile to the college student's lips when he remembered how soft her lips were, and the taste. It was the same thing he got every time he bit into one of her flavorful lemon and vanilla bean cupcakes. He really did love those cupcakes. They were his favorite, and it had gone on the record as such. The Haninozuka chef could make any dessert he wanted, except for a lemon vanilla bean cupcake. Those were especially from Akira and Kimi's shop.

Mitsukuni pulled his phone from his pocket and looked up Akira's number. He stared at it as he tried to come up with some sort of plan of action. He really did need to talk to Akira. He just wondered how he would go about doing that.

As soon as she could walk without feeling dizzy, Akira had left the house, leaving a trail of dust in her tracks. Mitsukuni knew it was the kiss the made Akira run. Though he wasn't sure why.

But what was he going to do? Mitsukuni liked Akira. He liked her a lot. Akira was the kind of person to go until her body wore itself out, and that wasn't healthy. Mitsukuni didn't regret his decision to kiss Akira because in his book he had just killed two birds with one stone. Akira needed her rest, and Mitsukuni had wanted to admit that he liked the baker for a while.

Mitsukuni was about to press the 'call' button on his phone when it started to ring. He smiled as Akira's face lit up the screen. He smiled and answered quickly. "Akira-Chan!" he cheered.

There was a pause over the line. "Hello Mitsukuni," Akira said quietly. "I –I wanted to apologize for feinting at your home."

Mitsukuni hopped of his seat. "Don't worry about it," he said happily. "Are you feeling better?" he asked sincerely. His brows furrowed as he waited for Akira to respond.

"I'm tip top," Akira answered.

"That's great," Mitsukuni chirped.

"I wanted to call and tell you something," Akira stated. "I uh… uh."

"Akira-Chan, you can tell me anything," Mitsukuni said as he stared at his cake. He heard Akira cough and he knew that she was still pushing herself through whatever virus has wiggled its way into a hole of her immune system.

"The next time you come to the shop," Akira began as she swallowed audibly. "I'll give you a dozen cupcakes for free."

"You don't have to do that," Mitsukuni said as he shook his head just a bit. He didn't want Akira to lose money by giving him free cupcakes.

"Then let me pay for the doctor who looked me over at your house," Akira said. He could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Hani kept his eyes on the cake sitting on the table in front of him as an idea took root deep in his head. "Will you have lunch with me this weekend?"

The young judo master could feel the hesitation in Akira's deep breath. "Sure. I can meet you for lunch," she said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Let's have a picnic," Mitsukuni suggested happily. "Here at my house. It's still a little warm out and if it gets too cold, we can just come inside."

"Okay," Akira said slowly as if she was unsure what to say. "What time do you want to have lunch?"

"What time do you get out of class tomorrow? I'll pick you up on my way home," Mitsukuni said. If he could pick her up, then it would make lunch more special. It would be just the two of us, hanging out. "You're better now, so that is something that we should celebrate."

"I get out of class at twelve. I just have a math for teachers class and an abnormal psychology class," Akira answered lightly.

"Those sound like fun. How about I pick you up a quarter to one?" Mitsukuni said as he thought about a possible time. It would be a late lunch, but it would be worth it. He really did miss hanging out with Akira. She was cute and funny.

"Sounds good," Akira replied. "Mitsukuni, what are you up to?" she asked suspiciously.

"See you tomorrow," Mitsukuni giggled as he intentionally ignored Akira's question. Tomorrow had to be a surprise. Otherwise it wouldn't be as special. He bit Akira farewell and hung up.

Mitsukuni quickly found Haruhi's number and waited patiently for the college freshmen to pick up.

"Hello?" Haruhi picked up on the third ring. Mitsukuni could hear Tamaki in the background blathering away.

"Hello Haru-chan, how are you?" Mitsukuni started off with the obligatory greeting.

"I'm good," Haruhi answered. "What about you?"

"I'm great," Mitsukuni said. After a beat of silence he launched into his question. "Can you help me bake a cake?"

Two hours later, Haruhi Fujioka stood in the massive kitchen of the Haninozuka household. She was wearing a pink apron as she held an egg in her hand. "So you really like this Akira, don't you?"

Mitsukuni nodded as he carefully measured some flour. He used the flat edge of a knife for even out the cup like Haruhi had shown him. "She makes the best lemon vanilla cupcake ever!" he giggled. "I just want to make a cake for her. She was sick, and now she's all better."

"Okay," Haruhi smiled. She had just spent some time listening to Mitsukuni talk about Akira. She was happy to see Hani-sempai branching out. With half of the host club scattered around the world, his social circle was limited. "So we're just going to make a basic white cake and a lemon frosting. You said that she likes Lemon, right?"

"Mmmm," Mitsukuni hummed. He dropped the flower into a large bowl and looked up at Haruhi. "This is going to be fun!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Mitsukuni was seated in the back of a small black town car. He would have brought one of the limos, but Akira had texted him asking that he pick her up in a smaller car. The Bentley was the smallest family car they owned, so he had asked his normal driver to take it to Akira's university.

He watched impatiently from the car. He wanted so much for Akira to show up so that they could have some lunch at his house. He was going to cook for her and then they were going to eat the cake that Haruhi had helped him bake. Mitsukuni was only hoping that he would be able to do what he had set out to do.

Mitsukuni's face lit up when he saw the brunette walking away from the college campus. She wore a pair of ripped boot cut jeans and a knee length duffle coat. She had a tan pageboy hat on and a weighted down messenger bag hung off her shoulder. She held the bags strap tightly as she looked around.

Akira spotted the Bentley and quickly jogged over while other students from the university started to point and talk behind their hands. Mitsukuni hopped out and let Akira slip in. Mitsukuni slid into the seat next to her and closed the door just as his driver pulled away from the curb.

"Hi, Akira!" he greeted happily. "How were your classes?"

"Math was kind of dry, but I can't complain too much. I learn a lot in the class which is important. And I need it to be a teacher. Even if I want to teach history." Akira answered as she stared at her hands in her lap. She couldn't stop the warm feeling on her cheeks from spreading to her whole face. "Abnormal Psychology was super interesting though. For some reason, we ventured into the topic of serial murders. It's kind of grim, and I don't really like to think about it too much, but a part of abnormal psychology is what makes someone do such horrible things."

"At least you're learning a lot about the fields of Psychology. You'll know how people act, and that can help if you want to work around all sorts of different people," Hani said brightly. He slid closer to Akira.

Akira gave an unenthusiastic shrug. She smiled slightly and looked at her companion. "What about you? How were your classes Mitsukuni-kun?"

"I had a literature class and French today," Mitsukuni stated as he bounced cheerfully in his seat. "We're looking at literature from the Romantic Period."

"That's a lot of English works, isn't it?" Akira questioned.

"The Romantic Period is mostly a lot of English, French, and German literature, yes," Mitsukuni nodded. "But Japan wasn't really a part of that trend of time. So the characteristics in Japanese texts wouldn't mirror the English, French, and German works of the same time. We're studying the European works because they're important for understanding the way of life during that period. At least that's what the professor says. There were a lot of monumental works that came from English authors in the Romantic period. Like Frankenstein."

"I guess," Akira said quietly. She liked to read a lot, but for the most part, she just read the more current works. She preferred the simple, clichéd romance that you could find on the shelf at a grocery store. There was nothing complicated about a small romance. Same formula, different characters.

"I'm so happy I get to have lunch with you, Akira-Chan," Mitsukuni giggled. He turned in his seat to make sure that he could properly see Akira.

"Me, too," she answered. She looked at him for only a moment before she looked at her hands again. The deep blush had returned and she couldn't look at him without feeling just the slightest bit embarrassed.

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni hopped around the kitchen of his family home. He hummed a simple tune and grabbed a pan for the chicken he was about to prepare.

"Mitsukuni-kun," Akira spoke from the edge of the kitchen. "Can I help?"

Mitsukuni looked at her. "I want to make Akira-Chan lunch. You can just relax," he said with an air of determination.

"But if I sit out in the living room, I can't talk to you," Akira pointed out. "I feel lonely in there."

Akira's words froze Mitsukuni to the spot. His eyes grew larger as he stared at Akira's downcast expression. He quickly moved over to her side when he finally managed to move his feet. He took her hand in his. "I didn't mean to make you feel lonely," he said sincerely.

"I know," Akira smiled. She bit her lip, looking at their hands. "I just want to help you cook. I know I run a bakery, but I'm quite the cook as well."

"Really?"

"Kimi and I cook all the time," Akira nodded enthusiastically. "My mom, too. Before she passed, that is. It's a great activity for two people." She walked over to examine the Haninozuka spice rack. They had a lot more than Akira's family. She expected that it accommodated several world cuisines. She picked up cumin and sniffed it.

"Okay," Mitsukuni said an octave lower than a scream. "I'm going to make a chicken dish. Do you want to make the rice pilaf to go with it?"

"Can I make it from scratch?" Akira asked as she moved over to the sink to wash her hands. "I know that it comes in a box, but it like to make it on my own."

"Yes," Mitsukuni chirped. He watched Akira as she closed her eyes. She looked so peaceful, and it made his heart flutter slightly.

Akira stood at the sink and let the warm water fall over her hands. It was a feeling she enjoyed, even if the constant washing dried out her hands. She turned off the water after a minute and attempted to shake her hands dry before she grabbed a paper towel.

Mitsukuni frowned when he was stuck with a sudden thought. Akira didn't really talk about her mom all that much. He knew that she had grown up without a father, so he reasoned that Akira and her mother had to be close.

Akira found a container of rice and started grabbing all the ingredients that were hidden in the kitchen. Most of the drawers were labeled for the family when the cook wasn't around. She looked back at Mitsukuni and found him staring at her. She laughed nervously and blew her bangs out of her face. "What's up?" She smiled at him and tilted her head to the side.

"Can you tell me about your mom?" Mitsukuni asked. He looked at the ground and wondered if he had crossed some boundary.

Akira's features softened as a small look of remembrance crossed her face. "She was a hard worker," she said. "She was always trying to make things better for us. I think she just wanted to prove to herself that she didn't need a second person in the house to help out with raising me. She had a job, she cooked, and she always put my needs before hers."

"What did she do?" Mitsukuni continued when he realized that Akira didn't mind talking about her mom.

"She worked at Rae-Chan's family restaurant as a waitress and after the lunch and early dinner hours, she did their bookkeeping," Akira answered. Suddenly she looked sad. "Then she got sick and we moved in with Kimi. Kimi was a cake designer and she did sugar sculptures too. She was really good, won competitions, and got paid good money to do these masterpieces for parties, but she cut back the number of orders she took when we moved in with her. She paid for mom's hospital bills with the money she made doing her sculptures. The doctor's gave my mom six months to live, and she only made it six weeks. Cancer can do that when it gets too advanced, I guess." Akira leaned against the counter and messed with the hem of her shirt.

"I'm sorry," Mitsukuni whispered.

"I miss her, but I know that I couldn't change what happened to her. We went to the best cancer treatment place in Japan, and they couldn't help," Akira said. She blinked back some small tears. "Before she died, she told me and Kimi to open the cupcake store and live the dream that the three of us had. We came up with it when I was really little. Kimi only had a nice kitchen she operated out of. So we saved up the money to buy the store and we dedicated it to my mom."

"And then you met me!" Mitsukuni giggled hoping she would smile.

"Yes, I did," Akira grinned.

Mitsukuni bit his lip before he asked another question. "What about your dad?"

"He was some visiting American," Akira said in a detached tone. It was almost as if she was trying to hide the feelings she had about the father that had abandoned her mom. "He met my mom at the restaurant during a three month study abroad program. Towards the end of his stay, Mom told him that she was pregnant, and he told her that he wasn't ready to be a dad. Then he was gone."

"Do you think about him?" Mitsukuni's eyebrows knitted together as he wondered what kind of person could just walk away.

"I don't really like to talk about it all that much," Akira said as she pulled Chicken stock from the fridge. "I think about him when my birthday comes around or when I see kids playing with their own dad's at the park. I don't let it get to me too much, though. He's the one that's missing out. As long as I see it like that, I can move on."

Mitsukuni walked over and hugged Akira close. He squeezed her tightly and waited for her to wrap her arms around him. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You don't need to apologize for him," Akira shook his head. "Rae and Sora know about it, and you're my friend too. It's about time I told you."

"You're right," Mitsukuni told her with a big grin. "He's the one missing out on what a great person you are. You make the best cupcakes in the world." He stepped back and looked at Akira. He could see her watery eyes.

"Thank you," Akira said and she choked back her feelings.

"Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Akira laughed. She wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands only to realize that she would have to wash them again. "You're so sweet and kind. Most of the people I know are always in a rush. I don't get to talk about things with them. You take the time to talk to people. It's something that I've missed since Sora and Rae got jobs at the law firm."

"I care about my friends," Mitsukuni said casually. "I want to know about them. I want to know what's going on. I care about you, too." He stepped forward and kissed Akira lightly on the lips. "I like Akira-chan a lot, and I don't want to see her cry."

Akira blinked and stared at the short boy-like man in front of her. She let Mitsukuni take her hand and lead her back to the sink. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I like you too," she said finally speaking the words that she had been feeling.

"Let's make lunch!" Mitsukuni cheered, turning on the water to wash their hands. "Then we'll eat cake."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

Mituskuni sat in the main library of Ouran University as he read his textbook for marketing. He happily swung his feet back and forth as he read the passage and took notes in the open notebook next to him. He looked up when Takashi walked over. He held his book bag in one hand. Mitsukuni smiled up at him and closed his book and notebook so he could pack up and go.

The two cousins left and walked out of the library. "Akira?" Takashi asked quietly.

"Akira-chan is so cute, don't you think?" Mitsukuni asked, giggling as they slipped into the waiting town car. The two of them were headed to the Haninozuka compound to study for even more exams that they had. "I really like her. And she made my cupcakes after our lunch."

"Too many sweets," Takashi chastised lightly with a smile.

The blond pouted slightly as he crossed his arms. "Akira-chan's cupcakes are the best. I can never say no to them," he explained as he opened his bag and pulled out a lollypop. Takashi took it away gently with a shake of his head. "I'm don't know what else to do to get her to like me."

"She likes you," Takashi said. He smiled down tucking the lollypop in his bag. He grabbed his cousin's book bag and started searching through it only to pull out five more lollypops. In an effort to keep Mitsukuni was crying, he decided to continue the conversation. "Rae told me."

"How is Rae-chan doing in Paris?" Mitsukuni asked innocently.

"Good." Takashi looked out the window. He hadn't been able to speak to Rae much because she was busy and the time difference made for conflicting schedules, so he spent time he would have spent with Rae with Mitsukuni instead. "When will you see Akira again?"

Mitsukuni bit his lip and glanced around. "I don't know. I haven't texted her or called her. She's busy with school. I don't want to bother her."

Takashi shook his head. "Excuses."

"I've never felt this way," Mitsukuni said hugging himself.

"Reiko?"

Mitsukuni shook his head. "Akira is so kind and nice and she wants to do so much with her life. She makes me want to work even harder. I just. . . really like her," Mitsukuni said. "How do you and Rae-chan date?"

Takashi looked at the blond puzzled. So far the two had only shared meals. He got Rae's necklace back and had made her soup when she was sick. And they had dinner at her parents. Otherwise, they hadn't done anything super special. Suddenly he remembered that there would be a fair coming up in the suburbs. "Fair?"

"The fair is coming!" Mitsukuni cheered immediately catching his cousin's point. "Do you think Akira would go to the fair with me?"

Takashi nodded and listened as Mitsukuni launched into a self-driven conversation about what they could do at the fair. He and Akira could cotton candy. They could ride the feris wheel. They could play the fair games and win a gold fish. Akira would get the fish of course. They could go on roller coaster or a scary ride. Was Akira afraid of haunted houses? Maybe a fun house would be better.

Takashi only continued to nod as Mitsukuni continued to get more and more excited as he planned out a day at the fair.

"I'm gonna call her now!" the blond laughed.

0o0o0o0

Akira sat on her bed in her aunt's apartment and hugged a large stuffed coffee cup. Sora sat at her desk as he flipped through a magazine. "Your so lucky Sora," Akira sighed as she leaned against the wall. "You have a job just like Rae-chan and you don't worry about school."

"I went to school thank you very much," Sora said, rolling his eyes. "Rae hired me as her assistant because every person who applied ended up either quitting or hitting on her. I happened to be in need of employment and she offered me the job. Can't turn down benefits and the fact that I get to hang out with my best friend every day." Sora shrugged and turned to face Akira. "Well, everyday when she's not in Paris."

"Still, you don't have school anymore," Akira pouted.

"Akira, you're working so hard, don't worry about it too much. So tell me about Haninozuka-san. You really like him right?"

"He kissed me," Akira said. "Did Rae tell you that?"

Sora shook his head. "And how does that make you feel," he probed, attempting to help her get to the bottom of her feelings.

Akira bit her lip before groaning. She fell on her side and squeezed her coffee cup plush tighter. "Nice. I really like his kiss. It's so light and sweet, and he tastes like strawberries. You know how much I like strawberries."

"They're your favorite thing in the world," Sora said as he spun around in Akira's desk chair. "Minus your lemon vanilla cupcakes."

Akira's phone started to sing and she jumped up and scrambled up to her dresser. "That's Mitsukuni's tone!" she said. She smiled as Sora burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, you're precious," Sora said bending over.

"Shush!" Akira said as she answered the phone. "Hi!" she said just a tad too chipper. She coughed. "Hi!"

"Akira-chan, how are you?"

"I'm great," Akira said as she stubbornly swatted Sora on the head. He was wheezing and fell out of the desk chair clutching his sides. "What about you?" she bent down and patted Sora's back as he started to cough.

"Who's with you?" Mitsukuni asked.

"Sora-kun. We're lamenting the absence of our best friend by comsuming massive amouts of sweets," Akira said with a laugh. "Sora-kun just fell our of my desk chair because he was laughing too hard."

"What was he laughing at?"

"I told him a joke. Apparently it was really bad." She laughed and scratched her head. She found it easy to cover up the fact that they had been talking about her feelings. She didn't want to be so blunt.

Akira stuck her tongue out at Sora as he sat up and tried to get his breathing under control. He started laughing again. It wasn't a full belting laughter, but more like the hissing laughter that comes when you can't breath, but still can't stop the fit of giggles.

"Akira-chan, would you like to go to the fair with me this weekend?" Mitsukuni asked.

Akira stood up and smiled. "A fair?" she asked excitedly. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Mitsukuni said. "Do you want to go?"

Akira bit her thumb as she thought about it. "When do you want to go?"

"Sunday."

Akira smiled. "That sounds like a great idea."

"I can pick you up. Okay?" Mitsukuni asked.

"Okay. I'll see you on Sunday!" Akira laughed. "I better make sure Sora-kun is still breathing. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay!" Mitsukuni smiled. "Bye Akira-chan."

"Bye Mitsukuni," Akira said hanging up. She grabbed the stuffed coffee cup and started hitting Sora with it. "Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm sorry, but you're just so cute," Sora said shaking his head as he held up an arm to fend off the soft blows. "You really do like him."

"How is that a bad thing?"

"It's not!" Sora said as he pulled the coffee cup away from Akira. He had finally stopped laughing. He took a few deep breaths and put the plush down. "I'm happy. You deserve to find someone who makes you happy and he obviously does just that. Plus he's teaching you martial arts, a skill you desperately need."

Akira crossed her legs and turned her head away from him as her cheeks puffed up in an exaggerated pout. Sora shook his head as he lifted up the plush and handed it back to Akira.

"I really am happy that you found someone."

"Now if only you could find someone." Akira crossed her arms and used the large plush as a pillow.

"I'm a lone wolf," Sora said with a chuckle. He relaxed and pushed Akira's bangs out of the way. "I'll find someone. Don't worry. Just let me manage the lives of my two best friends for now."

"You really do act like a manager most days. It's kind of ridiculous."

"Someone has to keep you and Rae out of trouble: the wild mediator and the cute little baker. What a pairing."

0o0o0o0

Sunday morning came and Akira stood outside in a pleated skirt that ended just above her knees. She had on a pair of thick sweater tights and black boots that went up mid-calf. She had a cream colored knit sweater on with a matching loose beanie that was adorned with dark wooden buttons.

Mitsukuni's towncar pulled to a stop and she skipped up to the car happily and opened the door before Mitsukuni could. "Hi there!" she greeted.

"Get in, it's cold," Mitsukuni said quickly. He was in a black duffel coar and dark jeans.

Akira slid in and sat next to Mitsukuni. She adjusted her sweater and turned so that she was facing Mitsukuni. "I haven't been to a fair since I was really little." She leaned forward and kissed Mitsukuni on the cheek. "Thank you for suggesting it."

"We should go on the Ferris Wheel and then we can go in a haunted house," Mitsukuni said. "Do you like Haunted Houses."

"Uh…" Akira started messing with the hem of her sweater. "I'm sort of afraid of all that stuff. But I think that's the point."

"We don't have to go," Mitsukuni said taking Akira's hand in his. "We can do the fun house instead."

Akira shook her head. "I want to try it! The haunted house. You'll be with me, so it won't be bad." She grinned and bounced excitedly.

0o0o0

A couple hours later and Akira and Mitsukuni stood outside the doors of the House of Screams. The two of them held hands as they laughed nervously. "Shall we go in?" Mitsukuni asked squeezing Akira's hand.

"Lets do it," Akira said swallowing her fears and mustering up enough courage to take the first step.

The two of them walked in and were plunged into darkness. Akira felt her heartbeat skyrocket when screams rippled through the air. Mitsukuni held onto her hand and led the way.

A mummy wielding a machete fell out of the wall and was inches from Akira and she let out a high-shrilled scream. Mitsukuni pulled her away as they continued walking. He had sped up a little bit and jumped back when another bloody creature fell out of the wall. He didn't seem all that fazed.

"They're fake, Akira. Just remember that," Mitsukuni said happily.

Akira took a deep breath. "It's all fake," she whispered. "It's all fake. It's all fake, AHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked as a ghostly pale hand reached out to touch her. "That's not fake!"

"They aren't allowed to touch us, Akira-chan. It's okay!" Mitsukuni said reassuringly. He started to rub the top of her hand with his other free hand. "Come on, we're almost out," he told her five minutes later

Akira closed her eyes and held Mitsukuni's hand with both of hers. She would occasionally open her eyes to look at Mitsukuni.

"Look there's the end!" Mitsukuni pointed. He started to run and Akira followed quickly.

Suddenly a light blinded them as several bloody manequins fell near them. Both of them jumped and backed up against the wall. Akira let out a loud shriek and curled up into Mitsukuni's chest. He quickly guided her out and the two let out a collective sigh when they saw sunlight.

After a minute of silence, Akira smiled half-heartedly. "That was fun. Scary, but fun."

"Are you okay?" Mitsukuni asked.

Akira nodded and dragged Mitsukuni away from the Haunted House and the screams. "I want ice cream. What about you?"

Mitsukuni smiled and stopped Akira. He pulled her close and hugged her close. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you." He smiled as he rested his forehead against hers. She smiled back at him and hugged him back.

"Thank you," she said. She kissed him on the cheek and dragged him towards the ice cream station.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Akira sat at her desk and was working on her homework when she heard her aunt walk into the apartment. "Akira, sweetheart, I'm home."

"I'm in my room," Akira called through the open bedroom door. She pushed her computer away and closed her textbook as she rubbed her eyes. She leaned back and stretched as Kimi came in and sat on her bed.

"How was Morinzuka-san's?" Kimi asked.

Akira smiled and turned in her chair. "Mitsukuni taught me how to get out of a chokehld. It was hard, and I had to ask for him to let go a couple times because I started panicking, but otherwise, it was okay," she explained. She looked around her room as she looked at her hands. "I watched Rae and Morinozuka-san spar. I think they're falling in love."

"Oh?" Kimi asked as she scooted farther back on the bed. "And what about you and Mitsukuni? Do you find your feelings for him grow."

"I'm scared," Akira said pulling her legs up and hugging them. "I keep asking myself what will happen if we don't work out like my mom and dad didn't." She buried her face in her knees and started to talk. "Dad left, and I don't even know who he is. I don't think Mom ever recovered."

"That's not going to happen to you," Kimi said sadly. She crawled off the bed and over to Akira. She grabbed the young woman's hands and squeezed her hands. "You have so much going for you in your life. You are in college, you have worked so hard to get there. You run a bakery. Your mother, bless her soul, didn't have any of that. She wanted so much for you to find the love that she didn't get to have and to have opportunities that she missed out on."

Akira looked up. "But what if I'm not good enough for Mitsukuni?"

Kimi stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Where is this coming from?" she asked. "Akira, you are better than anyone who could walk into that boy's life."

"I just look at Rae and she's a successful mediator for a top firm, and I'm still in college and I'm going to be a teacher. She belongs with Morinzuka-san, but I'm not sure I belong with Mitsukuni."

Kimi shook her head. "I'll be right back." She left the room and Akira closed her door before she fell on her bed and curled up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

An hour later, she was woken up by a tap on her shoulder. She groggily batted at the hand. "Go away, Kimi," she mumbled. "I want to sleep."

"But I wanted to take Akira-chan to dinner." Mitsukuni said.

Akira sat up suddenly and looked at Mitsukuni in shock. "Mitsukuni, what are you doing here?" she asked. She sat up and rubbed her eyes again.

"Kimi said that I should come over and talk to you," Mitsukuni said hopping onto Akira's bed. He was holding Usa-chan and he smiled. "Are you okay?"

Akira nodded as she sat cross legged. "I'm okay." She hugged her giant coffee cup plush and rested her chin on it. She blinked a couple time and smiled at Mitsukuni. "Honest."

"I want to take you somewhere," he told her. "I want you to dress warm. Okay? I'll go wait with Kimi." He slipped off the bed and skipped out leaving Usa-chan on her bed.

As soon as the door closed, Akira fell back on the mattress and blew out a sigh. She sat like that for a minute and the sat up. She looked at Usa-chan and looked around. She slipped off the bed and opened her closet doors. She pushed aside some clothes and bit the inside of her cheek. She picked up a pair of black boots that were lined with flannel. She tossed them to the side and started looking at her shirts and pulled out a green and blue plaid flannel button up shirt that would fall to the middle of her thighs. Next, she grabbed a heavy pair of skinny jeans. As soon as she slipped into the outfit, she opened the jewelry box that held all of her necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. She slipped on a pair of dark green zipper earrings, and pulled a large owl pendant over her neck. After rolling up the sleeves of the flannel shirt, she put on a watch with a leather strap that wrapped around twice. One she was completely dressed, she grabbed her messenger bag and stuffed her phone in it. She stepped out of her room and smiled at Mitsukuni and Kimi.

"Does this work?" she asked looking down at her boots. She hugged Usa-chan close. As she looked up, she found Mitsukuni taking a picture of her. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!" Mitsukuni grinned as he grabbed her wrist. "I'll bring her back as soon as we're done."

"Take your time," Kimi said smiling. She was blowing on a spoonful of soup. "I'll just leave the living room light on."

"Thank you!" Mitsukuni said dragging Akira out the door. "Akira-chan, take care of Usa-chan." As he pulled her into the elevator, he stopped and kissed her softly.

Akira smiled and hugged Usa-chan tightly letting out a small giggle.

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni held his hands over Akira's eyes and guided her slowly up a hill. "Careful," he told her. He stopped and kept her eyes covered as he looked around. Akira held a basket filled with hot food and a blanket.

"Mitsukuni, I can't see!" Akira giggled.

"Just hold on!" Mitsukuni said. He pulled his hands away and spun around excitedly. "Look!"

Akira looked around and found that they were alone on a hill. The moon was out in full force, giving them just the right amount of light. Mitsukuni put a blanket down and grabbed the basket from Akira as she pulled Usa-chan from her open messenger bag. "Are we allowed to be here?" she asked. She turned around and found a large campus that had lights shining on the pale walls. She felt her mouth open ever so slightly when she saw a tall shining clock tower. "What is that place?"

"It's Ouran Academy, that's where I went to school," Mitsukuni said. He pointed to the left at another campus that was farther off. "That's Ouran University, where I go now."

"It's beautiful," Akira said as Mitsukuni pulled her down to sit down. He started opening the basket and brought out two takeout containers. He handed one to Akira before grabbing silverware. "This is Pasta from Antonio's. It's really good, and I thought it would be even better here."

"Thank you," she smiled as she opened the container.

"Why don't you think you're good enough?" Mitsukuni asked after a couple minutes of them eating silently.

Akira paused with the pasta halfway to her mouth. She dropped the fork back into the container and looked at the school wistfully. "Because you and I are from different worlds," she answered. "Because I don't know what it's like to have a family like yours. I just feel like Rae fits into your world so easily, but I'm just a girl in college looking to be a teacher."

"But you do fit," Mitsukuni said. "You fit in my world perfectly. I think that being a teacher is a great idea. You get to shape the minds of the future. Just because you're not like Rae doesn't mean you aren't good enough. I don't think she's any better than you. You're just as smart. You're prettier too."

Akira took a bite of pasta as she thought about what he said. She smiled at him and looked at the school. "I just feel like you should be walking around with someone from there," she said pointing at the university.

Mitsukuni shook his head. He suddenly had a much more serious look on his face. "Ouran is great when it comes to high society, but there's a realness that's left out. Ouran is idealized, ostentatious, and a paradise for the rich. But, I'm glad I went there because my world opened up. However, the real world is a bit different, isn't it? Haru-chan taught me that."

"Haruhi?" Akira asked. He had heard Mitsukuni mention her a time or two, but she had never once met the young woman.

Mitsukuni nodded and smiled. "She's not from a rich family. She was a scholarship student at Ouran and she worked really hard to get there. She lost her mom too. I learned a lot from her." Mitsukuni looked at Akira. "You have to work really hard, and you do work really hard, but you do it and still remain happy. Someone once told me that happiness is really important to us. Don't you think that's true?"

Akira nodded as she stared at the school. "Can you tell me more about the Host Club?"

Mitsukuni giggled as he nodded quickly. Akira listened intently as he regaled her with all of the adventures he had with the Host Club. How Tamaki told him that it was okay to enjoy the cute and sweet things in life, that depriving himself wasn't a good thing. Akira laughed when she heard about how they all followed Tamaki and Haruhi to Boston for a year and the chaos that ensued. But Kyoya must have liked it there because he applied to go to Harvard and was living there. Akira perked up and tilted her head to the side as she listened to Mitsukuni talk about his three friends that were abroad.

"You must really miss them," Akira said as she leaned back on her hands.

"They email all the time," Mitsukuni said. "But sometimes, it feels a little off when they aren't here. Kao-kun seems to like a girl, but he won't share anything about her, so I don't really know much about her. Hika-kun likes a girl named Faye."

"What about Kyoya Ootori?" Akira asked, grinning when she managed to remember everyone.

"He's got. . . something," Mitsukuni said biting his lip. "He lives with a girl, but I don't think either of them really realize how they feel. They keep playing tricks on each other. That's was Tama-kun told me."

Akira giggled as she thought about being a little kid in elementary school and how Sora would play tricks on the girls he liked. Back then they didn't have much effect, so she wondered how this would play out for Mitsukuni's friend.

"Akira-chan, tell me about going to school with Sora-kun and Rae-chan," Mitsukuni said.

"I didn't go to school with Rae and Sora until middle school. Sora was in my class, and Rae was at the attached high school. I grew up with Rae so she would often sneak over to the middle school and have lunch with Sora and me. She was younger than the other high schoolers so she didn't really fit in. I think even now she doesn't really fit in the working world. She sometimes looks as if she would be happier back in school. Anyway, we would eat lunch on the roof and talk about what we wanted to do."

"And you wanted to be a teacher?"

"I actually was set on being a baker, like Kimi. Making sculptures out of sugar, and baking cakes," Akira said. She smiled as she pulled her knees up to hug them. She looked as if she was remembering a fond memory. Memories of baking with her mom and Kimi. "When I got into high school though, I met a teacher who made me want to be a teacher. The way she taught history really made me want to listen in class. She spoke about it with such enthusiasm that I wanted to learn and study hard. One day, I sat down with her, and I told her that she made me want to be a teacher. I wanted to be able to make students as enthusiastic about learning as she had done with me."

Mitsukuni smiled as he listened to her continue. He watched her eyes light up as she talked about the age of the samurai, and watched her suddenly get even more excited as she talked about the rise of industry in Japan. She started using her hands to talk as she got more excited, they would wave around and sometimes she would calm down for a moment only to get excited again. As he listened, he had no doubt that she would end up being a really great teacher. She loved history, and she spoke about it with such enthusiasm that it was hard not to get excited himself.

Mitsukuni grabbed one of Akira's hands and he leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss. She blushed for a second before she closed her eyes. "You're going to be a really great teacher, Akira," he told her when he pulled away.

"Mitsukuni," Akira whispered with a smile. "Thank you."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

Mitsukuni was sitting at his usual table in Good Luck Cupcakes when Akira came out of the back with a plate full of new recipes. Under the plate, she held a stack of her books for school. As a date, the two had decided to have a study date while they tried some of Kimi's pastry recipes as possible additions to the menu. Mitsukuni had his laptop out with a sheet of code displayed, ready to be worked on.

While there wasn't a lot that one could do on a study date, Akira had suggested it as a means of being able to spend time together while simultaneously working on all of the work that they got from their classes. It was a simple plan with very little flaws and they both seemed to think that there was some merit to its design. They got eat good food while they studied, and they could break the silence with simple conversation.

Kimi came out and sat at a stool by the cash register. "I want honest commentary."

"Ne, Kimi-san," Mitsukuni began happily as he pulled a slice of coffee cake towards him.. "My friend's mother wants a sugar sculpture for their New Years party. I gave her your name. I hope that's all right."

Kimi looked up at the ceiling. "I haven't made a sugar sculpture for quite some time, but I could try my best." She shrugged as she grabbed her laptop from under the counter and opened it up so that she could work on the books. "I'll see if I get a phone call." She looked down and started typing.

Akira grabbed a waffle cookie and bit into it and bounced slightly as it nearly melted in her mouth. She pulled her psychology textbook from the pile and opened it up. Once she had a notebook open in front of her, she started writing quickly. She took her notes in purple pen for psychology. She found that the colors added a little bit of flair to her note taking, and she never had a use to put subject names on the front. Each subject had it's own color. She had been taking notes like this since she was in middle school after she found that the bland black and white made her vision blur easily. The pop of the colored text allowed her eyes to find the contrast and provided with a decent amount of amusement on top of it.

Mitsukuni let out a happy moan as he gobbled down his slice of coffee cake. "This is so good!" he said. "Ne, Kimi-san. Do you have people come in in the morning?"

Kimi looked up and shook her head. They didn't even open until late morning. She had actually added the breakfast treats with the idea that if she could get a breakfast menu down, she could attract more customers. "I've been thinking about serving breakfast here in the morning though. Not full breakfast, just coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and breakfast pastries like coffee cake and croissants.

Akira looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure about that?"

"You don't have to get up early to help me Akira. You should focus on your studies. Plus, your expertise lies in cupcakes," Kimi laughed. "I also think it would be a good idea to advertise cupcake catering. Cupcakes are becoming big substitutes for parties in place of full cakes."

Akira nodded and thought about it. They had managed just fine with only three people working. Kimi and Akira would bake and then there was Isuzu who would work in the afternoons when they were much busier. "We would have to hire someone to cover the counter in the morning while you make the cupcakes."

"I'll see if we have the business to support it," Kimi said with a smile before turning back to her laptop.

Mitsukuni looked at Akira and then to Kimi and smiled. He of course had heard many of his fellow students talking about family enterprises expanding, but it was usually on a much grander scale than just adding a breakfast service to a small cupcake shop. Still, Mitsukuni found the entire conversation interesting. Akira and Kimi dealt in speculation and propositions. They didn't have a set plan, but the idea was there and they both seemed to consider it. Mitsukuni, knowing that Kimi was quite the successful small business owner, was almost certain that there would be changes coming to Good Luck Cupcakes. Already the shop had a small cafe atmosphere, and with the addition of breakfast service there was the prospect of added revenue. If they did catering, there would be even more revenue, but with added services there would be added costs. More ingredients, more time in the shop using utilities. One always had to consider the costs and benefits of adding more to the business. Would Kimi and Akira end up hurting themselves too much by trying to provide more service? It was a business tightrope walk. You couldn't expand too fast, and you have to find the best option for offering the perfect amount of goods and services.

Mitsukuni looked at Kimi again and saw that she was twisting her hair with a finger, mulling over the idea of adding more. She was smiling too. Like the idea was just there, right in front of her, ready for her to tweak and adjust so that she got the best possible outcome.

Mitsukuni grabbed another piece of coffee cake. "Akira-chan, do you want to go on a date tomorrow?" he asked.

Akira looked up, blinked a couple times and nodded with a smile. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"We're going to investigate other cafes!" Mitsukuni said. He bounced a bit. "We can see what they offer in services and then we can bring the information back to Kimi-san for her to consider!"

"Kind of like re-con," Kimi hummed as she tapped her chin. "That's a good idea, Haninozuka-san. Akira, when you go keep good mental notes, you don't want them to see you taking notes. They might get suspicious."

Akira's eyes widened in terror. "Suspicious?"

"We don't want people to know that you're thinking of expanding the services you offer," Mitsukuni explained. He grabbed Akira's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, it'll be fun. We're just going to eat food and ask if they cater. Okay?"

Akira looked at her hand and nodded slowly. It did sound like a lot of fun and she would get to spend the day with Mitsukuni. After a couple minutes she giggled. "We're going to be spys for the day!"

"Cafe spies!"Mitsukuni cheered.

0o0o0o0

The next day, Mitsukuni met Akira outside of her apartment complex, but he wasn't alone. He stood next to Tamaki and Haruhi. Tamaki was bouncing in excitement while Haruhi was smiling nervously.

Akira skipped out in a skirt and a loose t-shirt. She had slipped on knitted sweater that she had gotten as a gift from Rae. She paused when she saw Tamaki and Haruhi before she smiled at Mitsukuni. "Friends?" she asked.

"Tama-chan and Haru-chan want to help," Mitsukuni said with a giggle. "Akira-chan, meet my friends, Tama-chan and Haru-chan."

"Tamaki Suoh," Tamaki said with a flick of his wrist as he bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet the woman who has captured Honey-senpai's heart."

Akira bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. While she wasn't the most mature of adults, she still felt that the exaggerated, regal bow was just a bit too much for her to handle. Then again, maybe this was because she simply wasn't used to being introduced to someone who radiated a princely air. She bowed with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka," Haruhi said, sans bow. She smiled. "Honey-senpai speaks very highly of you and your cupcakes."

"Akira Higurashi," Akira said with a bow. "Mitsukuni speaks very highly of you and the other host club members." She adjusted her shoulder bag and turned to Mitsukuni. "You didn't bring Usa-chan."

Mitsukuni pouted as he crossed his arms. "Takashi wouldn't let me and he's out with Rae-chan somewhere," he muttered.

"We'll just have to tell Usa-chan all about it when we finish."

"You are just so cute!" Tamaki exclaimed jumping up and down as if he couldn't contain himself, and in all likelihood, he really couldn't. While he reserved himself around Mitsukuni because there was an underlying fear that the older student could hurt him, Akira was just a five-foot tall college student who liked cute clothes.

Akira laughed nervously as she started picking at her nails. "Thank you?" she asked as she scratched the back of her head. "Shall we go?" she asked after a minute.

"YEAH!" Mitsukuni yelled grabbing Akira's hand. "I know where we can go first. Come on!"

Tamaki grabbed Haruhi's hand and started following the older couple. "Haruhi, they make a cute couple, don't they?" he whispered.

Haruhi nodded as they walked down the road. She had come at Mitsukuni's request when he came to the sudden realization that his friends had yet to meet Akira even though the two had been together for a few months. One thing was for sure, while they might not be in love yet, the two of them were falling down that rabbit hole together and they didn't seem to mind at all. She smiled when Mitsukuni kissed Akira on the cheek as they rounded a corner. He pointed to a cartoonish sign that advertised a cafe.

"All right, remember not to write anything down," Mitsukuni said seriously. "This is to help Akira-chan and Kimi-san."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

Mitsukuni was buried in a world of computer codes. He was a Computer Engineering kind of guy, but it didn't make it any less burdensome. He spent a large majority of his studying, formatting new code for a new game or for software. While he was happy to work on new games, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be working on software codes. To put it simply, it bored him. He understood the many reasons why he had to work and develop software, but he still longed to deal only in games.

Whats more, they were just given an assignment that would require Mitsukuni to look for help outside of the University. They weren't creating too much code with this project and were instead creating a concept. I would be a project that would start in the new year. He had to create a concept for a MMO, get someone to create characters, scenery, and animation. His problem was that he wasn't particularly artistic. Put him in the ring with a Karate master and he would wipe the floor with the guy. Give him a whole cake. Done. Create a new world with a cast of characters. Eh, not so easy. He supposed he could ask the twins for help. They draw fashion concepts all the time, and if they couldn't draw scenery, maybe, just maybe they knew someone who did.

Mitsukuni looked away from his computer screen as his eyes started to water. Maybe he just needed a nap. A nap sounded just right. He looked at the clock and frowned unpleasantly. If he took a nap now, he would ruin his sleep schedule, and everyone was well aware of how hard it was for Mitsukuni to wake up. He could almost cry at the fact that he wouldn't be getting a nap in today.

Still, he needed a break or he was going to make a mistake and not catch it for several days. He pushed himself away from his desktop computer and yawned as he stretched. Maybe he just needed a sugar rush. Caffeine?

He walked over to his door and opened it, looking up and down the hall before he silently slipped out. He was going to go talk to the chef to see what there was that he could eat and eat quickly.

He didn't get very far when he heard his mother at the door. "Akira-chan what are you doing here? Do you have practice with Mitsukuni?"

Mitsukuni stopped dead in his tracks and perked up like a dog that had just smelled bacon.

"Not today. I just came to give him some lemon cupcakes. He's been working really hard on that code of his," Akira's voice echoed through the main living area. "I can't stay too long. I'm going to meet Sora-kun and get some dinner before we go to the main library."

"You're such a hard worker," Mitsukuni's mother laughed. "I'll make sure Mitsukuni gets his cupcakes."

"Akira-chan!" Mitsukuni yelled running towards the front door at full speed. He held his arms open as soon as he had caught sight of the petite brunette. Once he was close enough he wrapped his arms around her and spun her around.

"Mitsukuni, you put that poor girl down," his mother chastised. Luckily, she was holding the cupcake.

"It's okay Haninozuka-sama," Akira laughed hugging Mitsukuni close. "Are you taking a break?"

"Akira-chan, can't you stay?" Mitsukuni asked with a small pout. "We can eat the cupcakes together."

Akira shook her head. "Apparently Sora-kun has a really juicy story about something that happened at Rae-chan's office. He's also taking me to this place that has a really good American food."

"Like McDonalds?" Mitsukuni asked.

"Better. Not fast food!" Akira giggled.

Mitsukuni pouted a little bit, but he cheered up when his mother held out the cupcakes for him to take. He kissed Akira on the cheek. "Have a good time with Sora-chan. I'll see you tomorrow after your psychology course, right?"

Akira nodded. The two of them were going to go watch the action movie that Rae and Takashi had went to see a couple weeks earlier. Akira had been busy with school just like Mitsukuni, so they hadn't really made time to go see a movie. But they had both agreed that now was the time to see the movie before it left theaters.

0o0o0o0

Sora and Akira sat in a restaurant that made a call back to the 1950's of America. The diner setting was one that the two were only familiar with from old advertisements for Coke. The restaurant served milkshakes, malts, burgers, crispy fries, chili, and other meals that apparently screamed of the American spirit. However, everything was made with as little oil as possible and offered healthier ways to eat.

Akira grimaced as she took a bite of her bacon cheeseburger. A few pickles slid from the mess and she picked them up once the Burger was back on her plate. "Why do pickles have to be so good?" she asked.

"Because you're surrounded by sweets everyday and pickles are the opposite of sweet," Sora smiled as he twisted a limp fry around in ketchup. "So is this place a do again?"

Akira nodded as she picked up her burger again. "Definately."

"So you and Mitsukuni have been having more dates lately," Sora said looking up.

"Study dates," Akira clarified. "We just spend time together while working on homework." She bit into the burger and closed her eyes to savor the moment.

"Still, you're spending more time with him. That's got to mean something," Sora said biting the tip off a fry.

"Yes," Akira nodded. "It means I'm spending more time with him."

Sora rolled his eyes and gave her a "No Duh" look. "I think he's falling in love with you."

Unfortunately for Akira, she had been taking a sip of carbonated Sprite, and before she knew it, she was snorting it all out of her nose in shock. "Sora," she whined, grabbing her napkin and wiping her face. "That burns. Make it stop."

Sora couldn't contain his laughter as he covered his mouth to prevent a full on guffaw. "I'm sorry," he laughed. "I really am."

Akira threw her napkin at him and pouted by crossing her arms and turning her head away. "Laughing is such a great way to show how sorry you are," Akira muttered.

Sora got himself under control and tapped the table to get her attention. "You okay?"

Akira sniffed slightly and nodded.

"Good," Sora said. "But I really do think Mitsukuni is falling in love with you. And let's be honest, what's not to love. You are charming, intelligent. A little on the diminutive side, but so's he."

Akira narrowed her eyes. "Mitsukuni could have you unconscious on the floor in less than a second."

"Now that I'm more than aware of," Sora said shivering. "The Haninozukas are terrifying."

Akira laughed and grabbed another napkin to blow her nose. She scrunched up her nose in distaste and wiggled her nose. "Now all I need are magic powers."

"Bewitched?" Sora asked.

Akira nodded as she grabbed her burger. "You can't really think he's in love."

"Not yet," Sora shook his head. This is where he excelled. He could notice and did notice things about his friends and the people around them. He knew that Akira was just one more date away from feeling like her world would be incomplete without Mitsukuni in it. Mitsukuni was the same. The two had been working together to keep their relationship alive and well and they were both better for it. Well, Akira was better for it. Sora hadn't spent enough time with Mitsukuni to know whether or not, he was better with Akira in his life. "He's getting there," Sora clarified.

Akira stared at Sora for a moment. "But what if I don't love him back?" she asked.

"You do," Sora said with a shake of his head. "Akira, ever since you and Rae found people that fit your worlds, you've both become better. You're happier. You go on more adventures. You have opened your world to a whole new world of experiences, and it has made you a better person for it."

Akira tilted her head to the side as she poked her tongue into her cheek. "Sora, are you bothered that we don't spend all our time with you?"

Sora shook his head. "I spend all day with Rae. I spend a lot of time with you on the weekends when you aren't with Mitsukuni. I get enough time with my two best friends. Don't worry about me."

"Maybe you should find someone," Akira suggested.

"That's the second time you've suggested that," Sora said with a laugh. "I'm actually okay. I'm happy right now. I have a job that's got some great benefits, and I have friends who I would face the devil for. We're still quite young, and I'm not really looking for someone." Sora grabbed a couple of fries and skipped the ketchup as he shoved them in his mouth. He grinned, closing his eyes because the smile was just too large.

Akira bit the inside of her cheek and thought about it. Sora seemed perfectly content. Was she only worried about it because she and Rae had found someone to be involved with? Or maybe she just wanted everyone to have a happy ending. The happily ever after at the end of a fairy tale. Rae and Takashi were nearly there and it was a four month love story that was still unraveling. Did Mitsukuni and Akira have a similar story. Were they on their way to falling in love?

"Sora, sometimes I think you're too philosophical for me," Akira said.

"Sometimes I think you're too naive to be twenty-one."

"Nope, just inexperienced in the ways of the world."

0o0o0o0

Mitsukuni and Akira sat in a coffee shop side by side that was just across the street from the movie theater. They had walked out of the movie and decided that neither of them wanted to go back home and study just yet. Mitsukuni had rejected the stores sweets on the spot, claiming that he had reached his sweets limit for the day. The sweets limit that Takashi had put on him back when they graduated high school. Instead he settled for some hot black tea while Akira sipped at a peppermint hot chocolate.

"Akira-chan," Mitsukuni began looking at his cup. "Are you happy?" he asked.

Akira's brows knitted together in confusion. "Of course I'm happy, why?"

"We haven't gone on a real date for a while. I was just wondering," Mitsukuni said as he looked up. He smiled. "I'm happy too. I want to spend all my time with Akira-chan. Well not all my time, but as much as I can get."

Akira laughed lightly as she shook her head. "I'm always happy when I'm with you. You make me feel important. And when I'm with you, you're the one that's important to me."

"You're always important. Nobody in the world isn't important," Mitsukuni said. "You're just super important." Mitsukuni grabbed Akira's hand and grinned as he gave it a squeeze. "I love Akira-chan."

Akira felt her eyesbrows lift up. _Love?_ She had to process it for a moment. The fluttering in her stomach. The way her cheeks warmed up without any notice. The way she could feel her heart beat skyrocket. But as much as it felt like she was about to pass out, she almost welcomed the action. Mitsukuni said he loved her. She was loved by Mitsukuni Haninozuka and nothing else mattered. She smiled happily. "I love Mitsukuni," she said before she kissed Mitsukuni on the cheek. "I love you." She kissed him again this time on the lips as she squeezed Mitsukuni's hand back.

0o0o0o0

June 10, 2014, Author's Note: Hey friends! I know you're all quite busy with your lives, and so am I. I'm giving you a set of chapters right now, but I'm going to warn you right now of some delays in updating. I leave for a tour of Ireland and England tomorrow. I'll still be writing new chapters, but updating may not happen. The tour is three weeks long. So be patient and you may get many chapters updated when I return. I'll have my laptop, but I'm not really soaking up the culture if I'm constantly updating fic, right? I'll see you all when I get back, and I hope you liked that chapter. Please leave a review if you get a chance. I love to hear from you all.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

Akira wiped her brow as she stood over a large boiling pot of light blue sugar. She stepped back, content not watching the sugar boil even more. She just wanted to make sure the color was just right. For Kimi's sugar sculpture, she needed to make sure all the blue sugar they were making was all the same shade so that when it was all put together it would look right.

Kimi stepped over and looked into the pot for just a second before she pulled back. "It's all set, bring the pot over this way. Be careful, we don't need you getting sugar burns."

Akira nodded and grabbed the handles of the pot carefully. She lifted it off of the gas burner of the large industrial kitchen they were in and she moved it over to the prep table. She stepped back as Kimi and a large burly chef took over lifting the pot again. They began to slowly pour the sugar into a shaped mold on silicone matts. The process required all of Kimi's concentration, knowing that if she poured too fast, she could have bubbles in the structure creating an inherent weakness of the base structure.

Akira stepped away and moved to look at the colorful sketch that Kimi was hoping to turn all of the sugar into. It was a stunning display of bright blues, reds, greens, and yellows. Large flower like pieces were designed to look like fireworks. There were clever sugar party hats and a large banner that would read "Happy New Year". It was going to be an amazing piece.

After a few more minutes, Kimi and her assistant put the pot in a large sink and started filling it up with hot water to rinse it out. "Thank you Kai," Kimi said. "I'm going to let that set up, and then we can start working on getting our firework flowers shaped and ready for application when the actual event comes up. It's best to bring the pieces to the event and apply them there. We'll have to be very careful though. No matter what, sugar is always fragile."

The burly chef winked at Kimi and smiled. "You got it. I'm going to step out and check on my daughter. Then I'll come back and help with those flowers." He turned around and walked out.

Kimi took a deep breath as she turned back to Akira. "Are the heating lamps ready?" she asked.

Akira nodded as she pulled her chef's coat off. "I gotta run to the cupcake shop and take over. Are you and Kai-san going to be okay?"

Kimi looked around the kitchen. "It's been a really long time since I've been in this kitchen, but I'm sure I'll be just fine. Hurry up and get to the shop. We still need to keep our business open even when I'm doing something a little extra on the side."

Akira ducked out of the main cooking area and grabbed her backpack. She was in a skirt and thick knitted stockings. "I know, I know," Akira said. "I'm so glad, Mrs. Hitachiin called you to do the sculpture." She slipped on a duffel coat and quickly buttoned it up before she pulled a scarf around her neck. Once she glanced at the mirror hanging above the coat rack, she slipped her backpack on. "You'll make it look fabulous!"

"Yes, I will, now shoo!" Kimi said flicking a dishtowel towards her. She laughed before she started taking an inventory of what she needed to do.

Akira gave the kitchen one last look before she slipped through the doors into an semi-empty dining room. The kitchen Kimi and Kai were working out of was the secondary kitchen set up for pastries and the extravagant sugar sculptures that Kimi was so famous for. The main kitchen was already bustling with activity for dinner service of The Park Hyatt. Kimi had once worked in the Park Hyatt as a pastry chef and sugar artist and they had happily welcomed her back to work in their kitchen. Akira knew it was for the publicity. After all, this was a sculpture for the famous Hitachiin family. Why wouldn't they want it made in their kitchen.

Once Akira was outside she looked around and made her way the few short blocks to her cupcake stores. One of the reasons they had put the shop where they had was because they knew that they could get tourists and locals who worked in the area. It was a smart decision, they had a booming business, and the talks of expanding s became more real.

Akira stepped into the cupcake shop and paused in the door to find the place in complete and utter disarray. Isuzu was yelling at a tall woman. There were a pack of children in the corner throwing bits of cupcakes around.

The place was a mess and she had no clue what happened.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!" she shouted after a few minutes of timidly trying to get the attention of her employee. She was holding her arms stiffly at her sides, fists balled.

Isuzu stepped back from the counter and looked at Akira. "Sato-san wants four dozen cupcakes in an hour!"

Akira blinked and turned to the harried woman. "Did you call in an order?"

The woman shook her head. "It shouldn't be a problem though. You have a large production, right?"

Akira nodded as she thought about the two industrial ovens she had in back She could make a thousand cupcakes if she wanted. Easy peasy, but she wasn't about to let the woman think it was that way. She shot a scathing look at the kids who were still throwing cake. She almost recoiled at her own actions, but her patience was thin and the stress was high. "Stop that before I ask you to leave," she said simply. She turned her attention back to the woman. "We do indeed have a large production, but I'm sure you can understand that four dozen cupcakes is a pretty large order. We stopped baking two hours ago, and we close in two hours," Akira explained as she took some deep breaths. She had been working on this with Mitsukuni. Letting the stress go with each breath she took. She had finals to study for, and a shop to run. With Kimi out working on the sculpture and Isuzu having to work less hours, the stress was building up.

She turned around when she heard the bell above the shop door ring. She stepped back when she was greeted by Mitsukuni, Takashi, Tamaki, and Haruhi. "Hi." She said simply.

"Hi Haninozuka-san!" Isuzu chirped from behind the counter.

"Hello!" Mitsukuni grinned as he hugged his book bag close.

"Can you make my cupcakes or not?" the woman asked crossing her arms.

Akira turned around and blinked. She grabbed an order sheet and held it out with a pen and a bright smile. "Select the flavors you want. We'd be happy to fill your order. We only do half dozen and dozen packs of the flavors listed on this sheet. Four dozen cupcakes will be over twenty thousand yen. I hope you're all right with that price. Anything less than a half dozen will have to be bought individually. If you had called and placed the order, you wouldn't have to wait. It will take me about two hours to have a complete order of your size. I can't get it done in an hour. Do you wish to proceed with ordering cupcakes?"

The woman blinked and looked at the handsome men standing behind Akira. She blushed almost ashamed to be caught being rude to someone who just smiled at her. "Yes, I hear your cupcakes are the best. I will come back in two hours."

"And I hope you understand that we have to take payment for such a large order right now," Akira said. She moved behind the counter and still held out the order sheet for the woman to fill out.

The woman pulled out a black credit card and handed it to Akira as she took the order sheet. "It won't be a problem," she said. "It's for a company Christmas party. I'm sorry for the inconvience."

"It's not a problem," Akira said as she started to log into the cash register.

"Do you need me to stay?" Isuzu asked nervously. She was eyeing the boys.

Akira shook her head. "Go home. You have to study for your exams," she said, thinking about the fact that she was supposed to study for her own exams. She watched as Isuzu disappeared into the back to ditch the apron. She came back out with her backpack and ran out the door with a quick wave. _Traitor_, Akira thought in dismay.

"We'll help Akira-chan," Mitsukuni smiled. "Takashi and Haruhi need to study for some of their law exams, but I can help at the counter while you bake."

"I'd be happy to lend my assistance in any way I can," Tamaki said.

Akira blinked as she took the order form and started keying in the selections. She smiled at the woman. "That will be twenty 20,275," she said. She waited for the woman to nod before she swiped the card. She handed the card back. "If you would like, I can call your mobile when your order is complete. All you need to do is write your number right here. This will also save you waiting if you come early and the order is just finishing up," she handed the order sheet back.

The woman wrote her number down and smiled. "Thank you for helping me out."

"We're in the business of making you happy," Akira answered. She looked down at the name. "Have a great afternoon Sato-san."

The woman left and Akira moved to lean against the back counter. She stared at the order. She shook her head and looked at the ceiling as if asking the powers that be to make life a little less complicated.

Mitsukuni came around the counter and stood next to her. "Why didn't you just say you couldn't do the order? Kimi is pretty busy lately, and you have the shop to manage on your own."

"Because it was a big order," Akira answered. "Big orders mean more money. Plus, I'm pretty sure I just made her day, even if she just made my day harder," she said as she smiled at Mitsukuni.

"Oh, the commoners life!" Tamaki lamented.

"I'm actually upper middle class," Akira said crossing her arms. She glanced at Mitsukuni. "Is he always like this?" she asked. She didn't particularly like Tamaki's flair for the dramatic at the moment. It wasn't the right time. School. Work. Sugar. Cupcakes. Expansion.

Mitsukuni nodded. "Show me how to do the register."

Akira smiled and ignored Tamaki for a moment as he started reading out the cupcake flavors. The children in the corner threw their plates away and made for the exit. As Akira showed Mitsukuni her login, she glanced up and groaned at the crumb-covered table. "All you have to do is look at the menu. Touch the type of cupcake, key in the number, if it's outside of a dozen or half dozen. If there are more than a dozen, hit dozen and then the number. Super simple. For payment, tap this, and select the type. For cards…"

Mitsukuni nodded as Akira continued to explain the system. He smiled at her. "Go on and start baking. Tama-chan can help you in the back."

"Do you know how to bake?" she asked Tamaki.

Tamaki stared at her blankly. Akira shook her head and held up her hands. "I've actually got the baking under control. You can just wipe down the tables. Thank you for your help," she said tossing a damp rag at Tamaki.

"It's my pleasure," Tamaki said with a genuine smile.

Akira smiled at Takashi, "Would you like some tea or coffee?" she asked.

"I'll get it for him!" Mitsukuni said. "You start on your batters."

Akira laughed as she moved back into the kitchen.

"Akira-chan works really hard here," Haruhi said as the cupcake baker disappeared.

Mitsukuni nodded as he grabbed a cupcake. He put it on a plate and pulled a fork out. "She and Kimi really wanted this shop to take off, so Akira works hard to make sure that the cupcakes are perfect whenever she's in charge of baking them."

Haruhi smiled and sat down at a table. She pulled out one of her textbooks as Takashi joined her. Tamaki pranced around the shop wiping tables.

"Akira-san, are you sure you don't need my help?" Tamaki asked a few minutes later.

"I'm great!" Akira answered before she came out of the kitchen and started looking behind the counter for something. She stood up and held up an apron. "There you are!" she pulled it over her head and pulled the long straps around to her front. She tied them into a perfect bow and moved back into the kitchen.

"That apron always makes her look cute," Mitsukuni giggled. He frowned. "I'm going to help her study after she closes up. She was going to do that today while it was slow, but she got an order. She can't study when she puts together batters. Too many measurements."

"That's really nice of you, Hani-senpai." Tamaki said with a smile. "I'm sure that Akira really appreciates all you do to help her out."

"I want Akira to pass so she can become a teacher. I want to help." Mitsukuni smiled. "She has one last exam tomorrow like me!" He knew that her exam let out at noon and that his let out at two. She was going to take the train and a bus to Ouran and meet him for when his exam let out. They were going to look for a dress that she could wear to the New Year's Party that would allow her to move around with the cupcake order that the Hitachiin family had also placed. One thousand cupcakes, a sugar display, and a cupcake display that was being constructed by Rae's father. _Good Luck Cupcakes_ had quite the revenue coming from the party, but it also meant that Akira would be "working" for most of the day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

Akira sat in front of her computer and let out a short giggle. She had spent the evening watching cute videos of animals. She hugged her knees and watched a small baby goat bounce off one of his goat friends. She laughed and buried her face in her knees.

The holiday season always brought on a certain melancholy. After two years, she thought that the ache of missing he mother would disappear, and yet she still felt it when Christmas trees were put up in malls and the dressed up Santa's showed up on the street. Christmas had always been her mother's favorite holiday and as a result, it became Akira's. Her mother always had a way of making sure that the holidays were happy no matter what happened. Even when her mother was struggling to make ends meet, she made sure that Akira always got one present. Akira always looked forward to the presents she got from her mother because they were always practical and charming. All of her favorite notebooks for school were gifts from her mother, and gifts that would later come from Kimi and her friends.

_Family holidays are hard_, Akira thought to herself. After all, Kimi was the only real family she had left. She had grown up without a father, her mother was gone, and there were no siblings, cousins, or grandparents. There was just the two of them.

A knock on the door pulled Akira from her thoughts. She looked away from another happy animal video and announced that the door was open. Kimi popped her head into the room. "Do you mind if we join you?"

Akira tilted her head to the side. "We?"

Akira wasn't kept in the dark as the door burst open and Mitsukuni came bouncing in holding Usa-chan and a gift bag. Kimi was holding some wrapped packages. Akira recognized one of them as a gift she had gotten for Mitsukuni. They were going have a gift exchange now?

"I thought you were going to be with the Host Club tonight," Akira said as she closed her laptop and pushed it to the foot of her bed.

"We finished a couple hours ago," Mitsukuni said, crawling up onto the bed. He put the gift bag to the side and kissed Akira on the cheek quickly. With the way she was closing herself off he didn't want to be so overt in his affections, feeling like it was too much. "How are you?"

"Just missing my mom is all," Akira answered. "This was her favorite time of year. Mine too."

Mitsukuni frowned slightly. "I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be unhappy. I got you a gift," he said quietly. "Would you like to open it?"

Akira smiled and pulled her knees up and hug them, smiling at Mitsukuni. "I suppose you're right about my mom. I got you something too. It's not big, but I hope you like it."

Kimi sat in Akira's desk chair. "I've saved the rest of the gifts from your friends until tomorrow, Akira. But I figured you could open mine and Mitsukuni-kun's gift tonight."

Akira sat up, letting go of her legs so that she could sit cross-legged. She grabbed her large stuffed teacup and put it in her lap. "Okay. You can open my gift to you, auntie."

"Me first!" Mitsukuni exclaimed quickly grabbing his gift bag. He pulled two boxes from them and held them out to Akira and Kimi. "I want to see the looks on your faces!" he let out a little giggle and kept looking between the two women.

Akira put the box on top of the stuffed teacup's head. "Kimi, open it," she said. She smiled and grabbed Mitsukuni's hand. As if trying to assure herself that he wasn't going anywhere, she started rubbing her thumb over the soft spot between his thumb and pointer finger. She looked at Mitsukuni as he squeezed her hand before he covered it with both of his hands.

Kimi smiled at the two and tore at the fun Christmas cartoon wrapping paper. She pulled out a suede box and opened it up. "Mitsukuni-kun this is so beautiful." She lifted up a charm bracelet. There was a cupcake charm hanging off of it, and another charm that had the Kanji for "aunt". Kimi smiled and put it on. "Thank you. I love it."

"We can put those charms I got for you in England on it!" Akira exclaimed happily. She turned to Mitsukuni. "I got her charms, but her old bracelet is too full to put them on."

Mitsukuni giggled. "I'll give you the name of a shop that will add the charms for free," Mitsukuni said. "I got the cupcake because of your store."

"Mitsukuni open yours," Akira said hugging his gift to her close. She kept her eyes on Mitsukuni. She smiled, pulling her hand away so she could grab a gift wrapped in Christmas Hello Kitty paper.

Mitsukuni, not one for carefully unwrapping gifts took only a few seconds to survey the wrapping before he ripped it off. He opened the small thin cardboard box. He pulled it open and stared at the red and green tissue paper. He pulled it away and smiled as he lifted up a white gi. It was small, like it would fit on a doll.

"It's for Usa-chan," Akira said. She lifted up the little pair of karate pants. "When you let me borrow him a month ago, I thought it would be cute if he had a gi to match yours. So I measured him and got some fabric, borrowed the sewing machine from Rae-chan's mom. I even embroidered his name into the back, see." She pointed to the back of the gi. "You can now dress Usa-chan up when you want. There's more."

Mitsukuni put the gi to the side with a smile and pulled out a suit and a bow tie. "It's so cute!"

"Usa-chan is such a big part of you, I thought that he should have clothes to match some of your more important occasions," Akira said blushing. She slipped the bow tie around her wrist and grinned, holding the ribbons tight so that the bowtie wasn't slipping. "I made a couple of bow ties from some really nice fabrics, and made a matching set for you."

Mitsukuni put the clothes to the side carefully, pushing the box out of the way. "I love it! Thank you." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "You're so thoughtful, and they're all handmade. Thank you so much."

Akira grinned as she giggled.

Kimi rested an elbow on Akira's desk and looked at the two. They were completely in love with each other and it made her happy. It reminded her of the type of young love you read about in young adult novels. The fact was that Akira and Mitsukuni were both young adults trying to figure out what was going on with their own lives, but they were figuring it out together. She heard the phone ring in the living room, and stood up, excusing herself.

Mitsukuni bounced slightly. "Akira-chan, open my gift, please!"

Akira stared at the box and smiled, running a finger over the cartoons. She was nervous. What if it was ten times better than what she made for him? She carefully pulled at the paper and carefully slipped the box out. She pulled the box apart and stared at a photo album. She opened it up and found a photo of her mom, pregnant with Kimi. "What?"

"I asked Kimi for some of your photos and Rae-chan too. They have a bunch of you! And I knew your mom had to be in there, so it's a photo album of you growing up. My mom helped me put it all together with a digital designer. I gave all the photos back, so you have the regular ones for frames. The borders are great and colorful. There are photos of you in high school, photos of you with your mom. And at the end," Mitsukuni flipped to the back of the book. "Look, photos of you and I!" He pointed to a photo of Akira and Mitsukuni in Karate gi's making faces at the camera. Rae had taken the photo one day and must have sent it to Mitsukuni so that he could make the album. There were more photos of Rae and Akira with Takashi and Mitsukuni. They were seated in a booth for a double date.

Akira covered her mouth as she looked at the photos and flipped back to some of the photos of her mother's smiling face. Her dark brown hair, he light brown eyes. "Mitsukuni. Thank you." She put the book to the side and crawled closer to Mitsukuni pulling him into a tight hug. "I love it! This is the best gift I've ever gotten. I mean it!"

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Sorry for any delays. I've moved into a new place, my hard drive had to be replaced, and school started but I've had chapters just sitting in my document folder. I have a chapter for every story done, but am working on edits. I hope you enjoyed this little bit, and if you did, leave a review if you can, favorite the story if you can't.

Spirit


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